Screening psychiatric admissions for anticardiolipin antibody.
Anticardiolipin antibody (aCL) may provide an instrument for screening in neuropsychiatric syndromes due to cerebral ischemia. Thirty-five psychiatric patients, aCL-positive on admission, were matched against aCL-negative patients. Their clinical records on admission and after 2-years of follow-up were analyzed without knowledge of aCL results. An inventory was made of cerebrovascular and systemic vascular symptoms. In 13 out of 35 aCL-positive cases, vascular morbidity, suggesting ischemic causes of central nervous system pathology, could be demonstrated during follow-up and none in the comparison group. No correlation was found, however, between Hachinski ischemic scores on admission and aCL-positivity. Yet, if only on the basis of increased incidence of subsequent ischemia, the aCL-IgG/M isotype appears to be a valuable predictor of vascular neuropsychiatric symptoms.
Langeveld Center for Psychiatry, Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands.
H A
HA
Oomen
E M
EM
Wekking
J
J
de Jong
R J
RJ
Smeenk
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D017153:Antibodies, Anticardiolipin / Q000097:blood*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D015161:Dementia, Multi-Infarct / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D019965:Neurocognitive Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010343:Patient Admission
D017153:Antibodies, Anticardiolipin