Antiphospholipid Syndrome as a Neurological Disease

Neurologic disorders are among the most comum and important clinical manifestations associated with the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), mainly those that affects the central nervous system (CNS). These include sroke, transient ischemic attack, Sneddon's syndrome, convulsions/epilepsy, dementia, cognitive deficits, headaches/migraine, chorea, multiple sclerosis-like, transverse myelitis, ocular symptoms and Guillain-Barre syndrome. On the other hand, only one study investigated the occurrence of peripheral neuropathy and showed alterations in 35 % of PAPS patients. The proposed mechanisms of nervous system involvement in APS are: thrombosis, and antiphospholipid antibodies-binding CNS, leading to deregulation of its functions. This article updates the data regarding the clinical aspects related to major neurologic manifestations associated to antiphospholipid syndrome.