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Can Statins Help Treatment of Antiphospholipid Syndrome?

New research suggests that statins, traditionally used for cholesterol lowering, could be used in the management of patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), a blood clotting disorder that causes miscarriages, deep vein thromboses, and strokes.

The new research shows that the statin fluvastatin could reduce the inflammatory proteins that are elevated in patients with APS.

The research, by a joint team from the Special Surgery in New York City and the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, was presented November 12, 2012, at the American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals  meeting in Washington, D.C.

Read more about the research here: http://bit.ly/UbJ03c

The anti-malarial drug Plaquenil has been used for years in treatment of APS. It helps to reduce the antibodies that are the primary cause of APS patients’ tendency to produce blot clots when they shouldn’t. I’ve been taking Plaquenil for antiphospholipid syndrome for ten years.  After my stroke, my doctor hoped it would help lower my antibodies, but estimated it would take several years. She was right. After about four years, the antibodies started to fall. Not long after that, I noticed I was feeling better, with fewer flares and low-energy days.

It will be interesting to see how well statins work and what the advantages might be.

Do you have any experience with statins?

 

 

 

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New Video Explains Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Anisur Rahman

Professor Anisur Rahman of University College, London, discusses the latest thinking on Antiphospholipid Syndrome, its causes and treatments in a 35-minute lecture delivered October 10, 2012, at the Royal Society of Medicine. The easy-to-understand video presentation, with slides, is available here.  (http://bit.ly/VORFdC)

It’s a great resources to help educate physicians, patients, and their families.
Antiphospholipid Syndrome or APS (sometimes called Hughes Syndrome) is an autoimmune disease that causes blood clots, miscarriages, and strokes. APS is the most common cause of acquired thrombophilia (the tendency to produce blood clots when one shouldn’t  because of a genetic or immune system abnormality).
As Professor Rahman explains, APS is the cause of thirty percent of strokes in people under 50. I was one of those.

If you or anyone you know is affected by APS, this is a great learning tool.

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Don’t be a Statistic: Learn the Facts About Antiphospholipid Syndrome—APS

 

June is APS awareness month – APS, the acronym for Antiphospholipid Syndrome, the blood clotting disorder that caused my stroke nine years ago.

I remember feeling like the doomed heroine of a bad sci-fi when I first learned the cause of my stroke – an unpronounceable, incomprehensible disease: ‘Antiphospholipid Syndrome,’ or APS.

I’d never heard of APS. Nobody I knew had ever heard of APS, even most of my doctors had never heard of APS.

You may not have heard about APS, either, but you need to know. Here’s why:

  • One third of strokes occurring in people under 50 are due to APS.  Mine was one of those.
  • Estrogen in the form of birth control pills and hormone replacement–perfectly safe for most women–can be deadly for women with APS.
  • 15-20% of blood clots in large veins (deep vein thrombosis, including pulmonary embolism) are caused by APS.
  • 10-25% of women with recurrent miscarriages have APS.  If properly diagnosed and treated, many of them will be able to deliver healthy babies
  • APS is a major women’s health issue: 75-90% of those affected by APS are women
  • APS isn’t rare. It’s estimated that one to five percent of the general population has APS.  That’s about two to six million women, comparable to the number of women living with cancer.

 

Here are the facts:

  • APS is a blood clotting disorder. In patients with APS, the body releases antibodies that cause the blood to clot when it shouldn’t
  • As a result, APS is a common cause of miscarriage, blood clots in the legs (deep vein thrombosis), the lungs (pulmonary embolism), and stroke.
  • It’s also an autoimmune disease. Like lupus and other autoimmune diseases, APS can “flare” at times, causing weakness, fatigue, achy muscles and joints, especially when we’re are tired or stressed.
  • APS is sometimes found in conjunction with other autoimmune diseases, particularly as lupus.

Awareness is growing. When I started trying to research APS in 2002, shortly after my stroke, the only information I could find was a booklet from the Hughes Foundation in England and Medline articles heavy on doctor-speak.  Today, lots of information is available from the APS Foundation of America as well as trusted medical sites like the Mayo Clinic, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and genome.gov.  APS now even has its own Wikipedia page.

There are also several on-line support groups: the Antiphospholipid Syndrome International Support Group (APLSUK) based in the UK, and APS-Syndrome, both run through YAHOO, and the support forum sponsored by the APS Foundation of America.

Be informed and share information about APS with the women in your life.