title: Rituximab treatment for resistant antiphospholipid syndrome.
abstract: Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome (CAPS) can be challenging to treat. As they are rare, clinicians are not often exposed to these complex diseases. For the patient resistant to standard treatments new therapeutic directions can be perplexing, especially in the context of ongoing thromboses and bleeding episodes. We describe 3 patients, 2 with APS and one with CAPS, resistant to conventional medications, who responded to treatment with rituximab, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody. Since rituximab infusion, all the patients have had stable platelet counts and no further episodes of bleeding or thromboses.
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology and Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 90033, USA.
authors.forename: Elyse
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rubenstein
authors.forename: Daniel G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Arkfeld
authors.forename: Samy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Metyas
authors.forename: Shuntaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shinada
authors.forename: Sonya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ehresmann
authors.forename: Howard A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Liebman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D016736:Antiphospholipid Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D002388:Catastrophic Illness; D004351:Drug Resistance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012074:Remission Induction; D000069283:Rituximab; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D007155:Immunologic Factors; D000069283:Rituximab