While she has to do routine examinations to monitor her pregnancy, nurse Nina, heroine of the television series currently airing on France 2, learns that she has an autoimmune disease called anti-inflammatory syndrome. -phospholipids (SAPL). A disease that risks preventing the smooth running of her pregnancy.
What is SAPL?
The anti-phospholipid syndrome is an autoimmune disease, that is to say linked to a disorder of the immune defenses. While normally our antibodies only attack things outside the body, such as viruses or bacteria, in people with an autoimmune disease, the antibodies turn against the body’s own cells. . In the case of APS, the antibodies turn against phospholipids, which are the main constituents of cell membranes.
This disease affects four to five times more women than men: about one person in 2400 would be affected by APS.
What is APS manifested by?
The manifestations of the disease are mostly related to the obstruction of the vessels because the blood coagulates excessively and causes blood clots. The patient may suffer from:
- The formation of repeated clots in the blood vessels (venous thrombosis)
- The drop in the level of blood platelets which are the elements of the blood responsible for clotting (thrombocytopenia).
- Damage to the heart valves (valvulopathy).
- A high risk of miscarriage in pregnant women.
But APS can also be responsible for strokes and, more rarely, myocardial infarction.
What are the risks in case of pregnancy?
As we learn in the Nina medical series, anti-phospholipid syndrome also increases the risk of miscarriage in pregnant women. If pregnancies are still possible, the presence of anti-phospholipid antibodies considerably increases the risk of spontaneous abortion, at any time during pregnancy. Doctors believe that these miscarriages occur because of placental thrombosis, which clogs the vessels that bring oxygen and nutrients to the fetus through the placenta.
The risk of the fetus growing more slowly and being born prematurely is also increased. And at the time of childbirth, there is an increased risk of eclampsia, which results in convulsive seizures and increased pressure inside the skull in the mother, potentially fatal to the future mother or the child. baby. Fortunately, anti-coagulant treatments make it possible to carry 80% of pregnancies to term.
What is the treatment for SAPL?
Strictly speaking, there is no treatment that can cure anti-phospholipid syndrome, but it is possible to prevent coplications when the disease has been diagnosed. The treatment (often taken for life) aims above all to prevent the formation of clots by thinning the blood using anticoagulants. As these drugs can be dangerous for the fetus, during pregnancy anti-coagulants are usually replaced by low-dose aspirin.
Source : OrphanetInserm’s portal for rare diseases
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