Antiphospholipid syndrome and the problem of pregnancy failure

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is found in more than 40% of women with recurrent miscarriage. In this syndrome, the body produces antibodies to its own phospholipids (components of cell walls), which causes blood clots to form in the blood vessels of the placenta. This leads to delayed foetal development or even foetal death, as well as placental abruption and other pregnancy complications such as gestosis. With APS, complications of pregnancy and childbirth occur in 80% of cases. In 95% of women with APS, the foetus dies without medical attention.

What causes antiphospholipid syndrome?

Phospholipid antibodies can begin to be produced in the body in diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (70% of cases), systemic scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, malignant tumors, and chronic infections.

 How is APS diagnosed?

Several laboratory tests are used in the diagnosis of APS: Lupus anticoagulant and Antiphospholipid screening. All these tests can be performed in any treatment room of OLYMP СDL

 What to do if APS is detected already during pregnancy?

Women suffering from APS, from early pregnancy, are prescribed therapy to improve metabolism in order to prevent foetal pathology. This complex includes drugs and vitamins that normalise redox and metabolic processes at the cellular level of the body. The course of therapy is recommended to be carried out three or four times during pregnancy. In this case, it is necessary to carefully monitor the state of blood circulation of the baby and placenta using ultrasound Dopplerometry.

 Is it possible to carry a healthy baby with APS?

Provided that APS is detected in time, and a woman follows all the instructions and recommendations of doctors, she may well safely bear and give birth to a healthy child.

 How does APS manifest itself?

 The clinical picture depends on many factors, including the size of the affected vessels, their functionality and importance for the vital activity of the organism, as well as the speed of their blockage by clots. The symptoms of APS are often very similar to those of diseases ranging from liver cirrhosis to Alzheimer's disease. However, in antiphospholipid syndrome, it is not uncommon to see a fine mesh of blood vessels (livido reticularis) on the skin, which is more visible in the cold. Other signs of APS are chronic ulcers of the lower leg and peripheral gangrene.

How to treat APS?

In order to cure APS developed against the background of systemic lupus erythematosus or other autoimmune disease, it is necessary to eliminate this parallel disease. If this is successful, then the number of antibodies to phospholipids in the blood serum will begin to decrease. The fewer they are, the lower the risk of blood clots. For this purpose, doctors prescribe glucocorticoids and cytostatics. If antibody concentrations are very high, patients are prescribed plasmapheresis (blood purification).

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antiphospholipid syndrome miscarriages non-pregnancy