Coagulation Education: Treatment Options for Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Conclusion

In the concluding section of his talk, Dr. Tektonidou noted that the new ACR/EULAR APS Classification Criteria address systemic manifestations of APS, including cardiac (e.g., valvular thickening and vegetations), hematologic (e.g., thrombocytopenia) and microvascular (e.g., livedoid vasculopathy, aPL nephropathy, pulmonary hemorrhage and myocardial disease) complications.⁷ With the recognition of these APS manifestations and the immunopathology that seems to underlie them, interest in the use of such treatments as rituximab, belimumab, daratumumab, eculizumab and sirolimus has been sparked.

Finally, Dr. Tektonidou highlighted a 2019 case report showing that chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy may prove efficacious for the treatment of APS, and more exciting work is being done in this field in the U.S.^8,9

Jason Liebowitz, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York.

References

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7. Barbhaiya M, Zuily S, Naden R, et al. 2023 ACR/EULAR antiphospholipid syndrome classification criteria. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2023 Oct;75(10):1687–1702.