RESEARCH - Substantial morbidity and mortality seen with antiphospholipid syndrome

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Substantial Morbidity and Mortality Seen With Antiphospholipid Syndrome

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Aug 19 - Patients with antiphospholipid

syndrome (APS) face substantial morbidity and mortality despite

current treatment, according to results from the Euro-Phospholipid

Project Group.

" We have improved the management of the majority of patients with

antiphospholipid syndrome, but higher awareness is still needed in

order to perform an early diagnosis and start adequate treatment, " Dr.

Ricard Cervera from Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, told

Reuters Health. " Furthermore, some patients (especially those with

arterial thrombosis) are still resistant to the current therapy and we

need to have better therapies for these. "

Dr. Cervera and colleagues sought to identify the main causes of

morbidity and mortality and to determine clinical and immunological

parameters with prognostic significance in 1000 patients with APS from

13 European countries. Their results appear in the September ls of

the Rheumatic Diseases.

During 5 years of observation, 200 patients (20%) developed

APS-related manifestations, including 166 patients with recurrent

thrombotic events, such as stroke, transient ischemic attack, deep

vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism.

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Read the full article here:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/707694

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