Antiphospholipid Antibodies (aPL) and Thrombotic Microangiopathy for the Diagnosis of aPL Nephropathy: You Can't Have One Without the Other.

Abstract

In 2003, the title of a paper by Rollino et al asked the following question: "Is it possible to diagnose primary anti-phospholipid syndrome (PAPS) on the basis of renal thrombotic microangiopathy (PAPS nephropathy) in the absence of other thrombotic process?"1The authors concluded, in essence, based on their experience with 3 patients and a literature review, that thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) in the kidney in a patient with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) constituted a distinct clinicopathologic entity falling within the spectrum of PAPS.