Anti-phospholipid-antibodies in patients with relapsing polychondritis

Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is an extremly rare multisystemic
disease thought to be of autoimmune origin. In order to assess if
RP is associated with anti-phospholipid antibodies (aPL), clinical
data and sera of 21 patients with RP were collected in a
multicentre study. Concentration of anti-cardiolipin antibodies
(aCL) (IgG-, IgM-and IgA-isotypes),
anti-phosphatidylserine-antibodies (aPS) (IgG-and IgM-isotypes) and
anti-β-2-glycoprotein I-antibodies (aβ2 GPI) were measured by
ELISA. In eight patients aCL were found to be elevated. One patient
had elevated aPS. No patient had elevated aβ2 GPI. No patient had
clinical signs and symptoms of a aPL syndrome. Interestingly, the
two RP patients with the highest aPL had concomitant systemic lupus
erythematosus (SLE). Therefore the presence of elevated aPL in RP
is probably more closely related to an associated SLE than to RP
itself. There is no convincing evidence that aPL are associated
with RP.