MS vs. APS

[jrterriers]

I've been reading about antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and how some folks with APS are incorrectly diagnosed with MS.

My question is: is it possible/common for a person to have BOTH MS and APS? The literature is confusing to my little brain.

I'm also wondering whether any folks on the board have been misdiagnosed with MS when they actually had APS, or vice versa.

[sllowe]

Hi there,

Bumping this up for you.  As I'm sure you are aware, APS is another MS mimic.  I'm not sure about having both.

Has your Doctor done a workup on you for mimics?

It's been my experience (which isn't vast) that unless they thought you had a stroke, the docs wouldn't typically run the aCL's and the aPL's.  They should, but not all do.

Hope you are well, maybe some others will have info on dx's with both...

-SL

[Quixotic1]

Hi, I'm sorry we didn't get to your question until today.

From my reading testing for the more common antibodies involved in AntiPhospholipid Syndrome should be automatically included as part of the mimic rule out.  

I can think of no reason that a person couldn't be unlucky enough to have both. The diagnosis would be tricky, I think.  I suspect that a large number O-Bands in the CSF would point to the co-existence of MS.  We do know that many people with MS do have other autoimmune diseases.  The studies are conflicting on whether people with MS are more prone than the general population to have another autoimmune disease.  Mostly they say we are not.  But, when we do, there are specific diseases that we do have a higher risk for.  These include:

Autoimmune thyroid disease (like Graves and Hashimotos),
Type I Diabetes,
Sjogren's Syndrome (this data is a little confusing because of the difficulty sometimes in
       distinguishing the two if the Sjogrens is ANA negative)
Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Quix

[jrterriers]

Thanks for the answers/insights/info.

I agree that the APS testing should be automatic for people with a probable or even definite MS diagnosis. Although I am 18 years into an MS diagnosis, my primary-care doctor has at my request ordered an APS test.

Thanks again for the answers, and I will keep you posted.

Tammy

[6-paq]

I'm glad your PCP ordered the test just to "rule out" this mimic.  

I was tested for it.  My neuro didn't automatically order the test.  I saw a Rheumatologist and she ran it (which was normal).

Take care, Pat :)

[Quixotic1]

You make a good point and one that researchers in Hughes Syndrome have made.  All people with MS should be tested, because there have been many misdiagnoses made of MS that was actually APS or Hughes Syndrome.

Quix

[Quixotic1]

My  1st "evil" neuro did run it automatically.  His workup of me was very complete, though not very timely.  That's why I blame him so much for dismissing the abnormalities and talking me out of the LP.  He knew better, but still let his prejudice that nothing was wrong with me color his assessment.

Quix

[jrterriers]

It's amazing what some docs don't know or want to admit might be possible, isn't it?