High frequency of IgM antiphospholid antibodies in young Iranian patients with stroke

To investigate the presence of IgG and IgM types of anticardiolipin [aCL] and antiphospholipid [aPL] antibodies in younger Iranian patients with ischemic stroke. Both IgG and IgM types of aPL [cardiolipin, anti phosphatidyl inositol, anti phosphatidyl serine, anti phosphatidic acid and beta 2-glycoprotein I [B2-GPI]] and aCL alone [cardiolipin and B2-GPI] were measured in 117 patients with ischemic stroke [aged <45 years] during an 18-month period from September 2002 to March 2004 in Al-Zahra Hospital, Isfahan, Iran. The demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of patients with a positive titer were recorded. Seven men and 16 women [23 patients, 19.6%] had increased IgG types of aPL antibodies. Increased titers of IgM and IgG were found in 19 [82.6%] and 6 [26%] patients for aPL antibodies and in 15 [83.3%] and 8 [44.4%] cases for aCL alone. Despite European studies, high titers of IgM aPL antibodies found in a large number of patients can be caused by the presence of unknown triggering factors [infections or poisons], that are more prevalent in developing countries compared to developed countries. This hypothesis remains to be investigated further