Antiphospholipid antibodies in young Indian patients with stroke.

BACKGROUND

Stroke may be caused by antiphospholipid antibodies (APL), especially in young persons without other risk factors.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of two clinically significant APL-anticardiolipin antibody (ACL) and lupus anticoagulants (LA) in young patients presenting with sudden neurological deficit.

METHODS

A case-control study performed in a large tertiary care government hospital.

METHODS

Ten milliliters of blood was collected from 51 consecutive young patients (age less than 45 years) diagnosed as ischemic stroke and 50 healthy age- and sex-matched controls.

METHODS

Statistical analysis was done using Epi Info (TM) 6 software.

RESULTS

Overall, the risk factor profile was: Smoking (23.5%), positive family history (13.7%), hyperlipidemia (8%), and diabetes mellitus (3.6%). APL (LA and ACL) were present in 29.4% of the samples and in 4% of controls. The 'P' value for ACL and LA was 0.03 and 0.02 respectively, but the maximum level of ACL was 25 GPL units only. One-fourth of the patients were smokers and one-sixth had a family history of thrombosis ( P = 0.048 and 0.036, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

APL, positive family history and smoking were significantly associated with stroke in the young. We advocate screening for APL in all young patients with stroke.