A case of primary antiphospholipid antibody syndrome with intermittent cerebral venous sinus thrombosis manifested with recurrent epilepsy

Abstract

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an acquired autoimmune clinical disorder characterized by persistently raised levels of anti-phospholipid antibodies and clinical feature of hypercoagulability (recurrent vascular thrombosis and pregnancy morbidities). Primary APS is idiopathic in nature though secondary APS is associated with other connective tissue diseases like SLE. Here, we present an instance of primary APS with recurrent cerebral venous sinus thrombosis in a youthful unmarried female who clinically presented with generalized epilepsy. Level of anti-cardiolipin (aCL) and anti-beta 2 GP1 antibodies were found elevated on two occasions 12 weeks apart. The patient was treated with anticoagulation therapy along with anti-epileptic therapy and she responded well to the therapy. This case report highlights that clinicians should always suspect APS in female patients who had history of seizures and ischemic or thrombotic lesions on brain imaging, irrespective of presence of pregnancy comorbidities. Keywords: antiphospholipid syndrome; cerebral venous; sinus thrombosis; epilepsy