What is antiphospholipid syndrome (APS)?.

This is a condition in which antibodies are produced in the human body, attacking phospholipids - components of cell membranes. APS accompanies certain diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic infectious diseases and others.. These antibodies are attached to the walls of blood vessels and platelets, participate in blood clotting reactions and, as a result, promote the formation of thrombi, as reported by the Internet publication for girls and women from 14 to 35 years Pannochka. net Individual researchers believe that antibodies to phospholipids are toxic to human tissues. For this state there are a number of manifestations, which in scientific terms is called "antiphospholipid syndrome", or abbreviated as APS. At the international thematic medical symposium in 1994, another name for the disease was proposed - Hughes syndrome - in honor of the British rheumatologist, who first described the ASF and made a great contribution to the study of this condition.

In the human body, a mass of antibodies to phospholipids. This, for example, lupus anticoagulant, antibodies to cardiolipins, to clotting factors and components that neutralize clotting, and many other. In medical practice, only two of them are detected: antibodies to cardiolipin and lupus anticoagulant.

Symptoms of antiphospholipid syndrome can vary greatly. The clinical picture depends on the following factors:.

the magnitude of the vessels affected by the process;.

the rate at which the thrombus blocks the lumen of the vessel. Sometimes the vessel is gradually clogged with a formed thrombus, in other cases the clot breaks away and moves along the bloodstream, the blockage occurs swiftly;.

a functional variety of the affected vessel (artery or vein);.

location of the vessel (brain, heart, lungs, liver).

If thrombosis occurs in small vessels, the organ suffers slightly. For example, blockage of small branches of the coronary artery leads to the fact that some parts of the heart muscle begin to contract badly, but the thrombosis of the main trunk of this vessel entails a myocardial infarction.

Thrombosis is characterized by the fact that the signs of the disorder grow gradually, the functioning of the organ is disrupted slowly, and this whole process mimics for any chronic disease, for example Alzheimer's disease or cirrhosis. If the lumen of the vessel is blocked by a severed thrombus, rapid cardinal abnormalities occur in the organ. For example, with thromboembolism of the pulmonary artery, suffocation occurs, soreness in the chest appears, coughing attacks, uncommon death.

AFS is able to take the form of various diseases, but some symptoms of this disease require special attention. So, the characteristic signs of the syndrome are:.

a reticulated livedo - a lace-like thin vascular net that spills under the skin and becomes more distinct at low temperatures;.

poorly cured chronic ulcers in the region of the lower leg;.

peripheral gangrene - necrosis of the skin and whole fingers on the lower and upper limbs.

In men more often than in women, APS leads to the development of myocardial infarction.

Women are more prone to cerebral circulatory disorders that lead to early strokes (up to forty years), headaches similar to migraines.

If the thrombosis affects the blood vessels of the liver, the organ increases, the fluid accumulates in the abdominal cavity, the level of hepatic enzymes.

When the kidneys are damaged, the patient has hypertension. Especially attentively the doctors look at the hypertensive patients, whose diastolic pressure indicators jump several times a day.

The condition threatened by antiphospholipid syndrome is pregnancy. The fact is that thrombosis of the vessels of the placenta leads to fetal death or early childbirth. For this reason, women with lupus face frequent miscarriages and are rarely able to tolerate a child.

What should alert?.

Diagnosis of antiphospholipid syndrome is necessary in the following situations:.

when a person has systemic lupus erythematosus. The majority of patients with this disease have AFS;.

when a person's thrombosis develops before reaching the age of forty;.

if a person has a thrombosis of the vessels, for which this process is unusual - say, vessels that supply the intestine. Overlapping the lumen of these vessels causes the "abdominal toad". Its name was obtained by analogy with the "angina pectoris" - angina pectoris. For the abdominal toad are characterized by compressive pain in the abdominal region, which begin after eating. The more food you get in the digestive tract, the more blood you need to digest it. And in cases when the lumen of the vessel is partially blocked by a blood clot, the blood supply is disturbed, the organs of the abdominal cavity experience oxygen starvation, metabolites accumulate in them, pain begins;.

if in the bloodstream the content of platelets is lowered, and there are no blood diseases;.

if a woman already had two spontaneous abortions and doctors can not determine why this happened;.

if the patient had a myocardial infarction before the age of forty.

Treatment of antiphospholipid syndrome Treatment of ASA is engaged exclusively rheumatologist. In cases where APS is manifested in a person suffering from an autoimmune disease (which include, for example, systemic lupus erythematosus), it is precisely his. If the treatment of the underlying disease is successful, the number of antibodies to phospholipids is reduced, hence the risk of vascular thrombosis decreases. Hence the importance of the main therapy appointed by the doctor.

If the diagnosis of antiphospholipid syndrome indicates that the concentration of antibodies to phospholipids is too high, the doctor can prescribe a plasmapheresis procedure.

In some cases, patients are prescribed drugs that act on the coagulating components of the blood and thereby reduce the risk of thrombosis. These drugs are used only if the effect of their intake exceeds the danger of complications. This method has many contraindications, which include, for example, pregnancy (these drugs lead to violations of the development of the central nervous system of the unborn child), peptic ulcer diseases of the digestive system.

Thinking about the appointment of these drugs to people with kidney and liver diseases, the doctor evaluates all the pros and cons of their use.

If a woman has an antiphospholipid syndrome, pregnancy should be postponed until the antibody titers come back to normal.

The effectiveness of APS treatment depends on the timeliness of the measures and how accurately the patient will adhere to medical recommendations.

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