title: Ischemic stroke in a teenage girl with primary antiphospholipid antibody syndrome.
abstract: The diagnosis of stroke in children and young adults can be difficult, and the causes of ischemic stroke often remains unexplained even after extensive evaluation. We present a 13-year-old girl who had two ischemic strokes within a period of 3 weeks. A carotid duplex study and magnetic resonance angiography confirmed total occlusion of the left internal carotid artery. Serum immunologic examination revealed a high titer of immunoglobulin G anticardiolipin antibody (45.7 GPL U/mL; normal range, 0-16.2 GPL U/mL). The patient received long-term anticoagulation treatment with warfarin 5 to 7.5 mg per day, and international normalized ratios were maintained between 2.4 and 4.0. She recovered completely 5 weeks after the first stroke and has been well during the 6 months of follow-up after the onset. This is the first reported case of childhood ischemic stroke secondary to primary antiphospholipid antibody syndrome in Taiwan. This case emphasizes the importance of evaluating antiphospholipid antibody levels in patients with unexplained ischemic strokes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016736:Antiphospholipid Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020521:Stroke / Q000209:etiology*