Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS)

Abstract

In 1983, Graham R V Hughes, MD published a 2-page article in the British Medical Journal entitled “Thrombosis, abortion, cerebral disease, and the lupus anticoagulant” [1]. This is generally acknowledged as the first report associating the antibodies subsequently named the antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) with multiple clinical occurrences, now known as the Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome (or Hughes Syndrome). The aPL reflect a heterogeneous collection of antibodies which cause/contribute to the pathologic manifestations, as well as the “false positive Veneral Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL)” test and the misnomer “lupus anticoagulant”. Since that initial publication, many groups have expounded upon Dr. Hughes’ observation leading to 14 International Congresses on aPL. During these meetings, clinical and research observations were presented and discussed and diagnostic criteria were proposed and refined. The most recent congress occurred in 2013 in Rio de Janeiro and the 15 is planned for 2016 in Istanbul.