Author/Editor     Avčin, Tadej
Title     Podrobna specifičnost in pomen antifosfolipidnih protiteles v otroškem obdobju
Translated title     The fine specificity and significance of antiphosholipid antibodies in pediatric populations
Type     monografija
Place     Ljubljana
Publisher     Medicinska fakulteta
Publication year     2003
Volume     str. 130
Language     slo
Abstract     In recent years, antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) and their associated clinical features have been recognized increasingly in various pediatric autoimmune and nonautoimmune diseases. The pathogenic mechanisms involved in pediatric antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) have not been thoroughly investigated, but it is generally assumed that they are similar to adults. However, there ciearly are differences in the frequency of specific clinical manifestations, since children do not have prothrombotic risk factors present in adults. Moreover, several unique issues of the developing immune system suggest a broader association of aPL with specific immunological mechanisms in pediatric population. Investigations in the present work were designed to elucidate factors specific to children and to examine the fine specificity and clinical significance of aPL in pediatric population. In the study presented in Chapter 1, we examined aPL in a well defined group of 61 apparently healthy children at regular preventive visits and established positivity of anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) in 11.4% and of antibodies against beta2 glycoprotein I (anti-beta2GPI) in 6.6% of subjects, respectively. Because aCL are also expressed frequently in various viral and bacterial infections that are commonly acquired in childhood, we speculate that some positive aCL values in apparently healthy children could be the result of previous infection or vaccination. Moreover, we demonstrated that the mean value of IgG anti-beta2GPI is highest in preschool children and in this group it is significantly higher than in adolescents and healthy adults. This is a novel finding that suggests alternative immune responses of the developing immune system to the dietary beta2GPl and may result in specific aPL production during childhood. (Abstract truncated at 2000 characters).
Descriptors     ANTIBODIES, ANTIPHOSPHOLIPID
ANTIPHOSPHOLIPID SYNDROME
ARTHRITIS, JUVENILE RHEUMATOID
EPILEPSY
ANTIBODIES, ANTICARDIOLIPIN
CHILD
THROMBOCYTOPENIA
IGG
GLYCOPROTEINS