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Anti-phospholipid-antibodies in patients with relapsing polychondritis

R H Straub

University of Regensburg, Medical Center, Department of Internal Medicine I, Germany

U Schlosser

University of Regensburg, Medical Center, Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Germany

G Rauh

Ludwig-Maximilian's University Munich, Medical Policlinic, Germany

G Schmitz

University of Regensburg, Medical Center, Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Germany

J Schòlmerich

B Lang

University of Regensburg, Medical Center, Department of Internal Medicine I, Germany

Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is an extremly rare multisystemic disease thought to be of autoimmune origin. In order to assess if RP is associated with anti-phospholipid antibodies (aPL), clinical data and sera of 21 patients with RP were collected in a multicentre study. Concentration of anti-cardiolipin antibodies (aCL) (IgG-, IgM-and IgA-isotypes), anti-phosphatidylserine-antibodies (aPS) (IgG-and IgM-isotypes) and anti-ß-2-glycoprotein I-antibodies (aß2 GPI) were measured by ELISA. In eight patients aCL were found to be elevated. One patient had elevated aPS. No patient had elevated aß2 GPI. No patient had clinical signs and symptoms of a aPL syndrome. Interestingly, the two RP patients with the highest aPL had concomitant systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Therefore the presence of elevated aPL in RP is probably more closely related to an associated SLE than to RP itself. There is no convincing evidence that aPL are associated with RP.

Key Words: anti-phospholipid antibodies • relapsing polychondritis

Lupus, Vol. 7, No. 1, 12-14 (1998)
DOI: 10.1191/096120398678919615


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