Anticardiolipin antibodies: a study in cerebral venous thrombosis

Objectives - Anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) have been recognized as a mar ker for an increased risk of thrombosis. There are no documented reports fr om India on the prevalence of aCL in patients with cerebral venous thrombos is (CVT). Our study aimed at establishing the prevalence of these antibodie s in patients with CVT and evaluating their clinical significance. Subjects and methods - Thirty-one patients with CVT diagnosed by angiography and/or cranial CT were investigated for the presence of aCL along with 31 age- an d sex-matched normal controls. All subjects had no overt evidence of system ic lupus erythematosis or related autoimmune disorders. The titres of IgG a nd IgM type of aCL were estimated in the sera using a solid phase enzyme-li nked immunosorbent assay. Results Anticardiolipin antibodies were detected in 22.6% of CVT patients compared to 3.2% of normal controls (95% confidenc e interval (CI) 1.01 to 75.65). Five CVT patients had both IgG and IgM anti bodies, and 2 had only IgG antibodies. The aCL positive group did not diffe r from the aCL-negative group with respect to the clinical characteristics and the demographic and risk factor profile. Conclusion - The findings sugg est that anticardiolipin antibodies are a risk marker for cerebral venous t hrombosis. Further studies on a larger group of patients are needed to esta blish the role of aCL in the pathogenesis of CVT.