title: The current standing of diagnosis of antiphospholipid syndrome associated with systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: The antiphospholipid syndrome was first described in the early 1980s. The term was first coined to describe patients presenting with recurrent arterial and venous thrombosis or pregnancy complications. Antiphospholipid syndrome was first reported in systemic lupus erythematosus patients, but later on it became obvious that systemic lupus erythematosus is not a necessary condition for its occurrence. It has been shown that antibodies to phospholipids are the main causative agents of the disease, hence its name. The diagnosis of the disease has witnessed a remarkable evolution over the course of the past 25 years. With the observation that clinical parameters would not be enough to accurately diagnose the disease, antiphospholipid antibodies were recognized to play a central role in this regard. The main hindrance to an accurate diagnosis was the lack of standardization between different laboratory parameters that tested for the antiphospholipid antibodies. Lately, a combination of tests has been acknowledged to play a crucial role in diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology & Oncology, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Bassem N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Matta
authors.forename: Imad
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Uthman
authors.forename: Ali T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Taher
authors.forename: Munther A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Khamashta
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016736:Antiphospholipid Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology; D003951:Diagnostic Errors / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007159:Immunologic Tests / Q000592:standards; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011250:Pregnancy Complications, Hematologic / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D001324:Autoantigens