Lupoid Sclerosis: What Is the Role of Antiphospholipid Antibodies?

Lima I, Melo A, Brandi IV, Costa O, Santiago M.

From the *Servico de Reumatologia do Hospital Santa Izabel (HSI); daggerHospital Universitario Professor Edgar Santos, Brazilian Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis; double daggerRede SARAH de Hospitais de Reabilitacao, Hospital Sarah Salvador; section signLaboratorio de imunoobstetricia da Maternidade Climerio de Oliveira; paragraph signEscola Bahiana de Medicina e Saude Publica, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

A multiple sclerosis-like syndrome, also called lupoid sclerosis for having some lupus characteristics, has been described in a few reports. Recently, antiphospholipid antibodies have been demonstrated in patients with this syndrome, suggesting that they can participate in the etiopathogenic process, which can have therapeutic implications.  We report the case of a patient previously diagnosed with multiple sclerosis who later presented with ANA positivity and antiphospholipid antibodies, livedo reticularis, and deep venous thrombosis, leading her to be characterized as having lupoid sclerosis. The patient was anticoagulated. Antiphospholipid antibodies may be involved in the pathogenesis of lupoid sclerosis.

PMID: 17414536 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=17414536&itool=pubmed_DocSum