Hello and welcome to the zero to finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about antifospholipid syndrome.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero to finals.com slash antifospholipid syndrome

or in the rheumatology section of the second edition of the

Zero to Finals Medicine book. So let's get straight into it. Antifospholipid syndrome is an

autoimmune disorder caused by antifospholipid antibodies. These antibodies target the proteins that bind to phospholipids on the cell surface, causing

inflammation and increasing the risk of thrombosis or blood clots.

Antifospholipid syndrome can occur in isolation, or it may be associated with another

autoimmune condition, particularly systemic lupus erythematosis.

Let's talk about the antibodies. The specific antifosolipid antibodies are lupus anticoagulant, anti-caradiolypin antibodies, and anti-Beta-2 glycoprotein-1

antibodies. Usually when you're requesting antibodies from the lab, you can simply tick a box

that says antipholipid antibodies.

Let's talk about the complications.

The key complications of antifospholipid syndrome are venous thromboembolism,

for example deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism,

arterial thrombosis, for example stroke, myococardial infarction and renal thrombosis,

and pregnancy-related complications, for example, recurrent miscarriage, stillbirth and preeclampsia.

Catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome is a rare complication with rapid thrombosis in multiple organs within a few days and this has a high mortality rate.

A tom tip for you, in your exams look out for the patient with thrombosis, for example, deep vein thrombosis

or stroke, and a history of recurrent miscarriage. The diagnosis in this case is likely to be

antiphospholipid syndrome. Next let's talk about the associations. Levedo reticularis is a purple lace-like, which is what reticula refers to, rash that gives a

mottled appearance to the skin. A more permanent version of this rash called Levido racemosa is

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