What are Anticardiolipin Antibodies?
- Anticardiolipins are antibodies produced by the immune system against the platelet membrane phospholipids responsible for the coagulation of blood clots.
- Anticardiolipin antibodies are often responsible (with lupus anticoagulants and beta-2 glycoprotein antibodies) for the abnormal formation of clots in veins (phlebitis) and arteries (arterial thrombosis).
- They are involved in antiphospholipid syndrome, which occurs, for example, through repeated miscarriages during the second or third trimester of pregnancy.
There are three types of anticardiolipin antibodies: IgG, IgA and IgM.
Understand and improve your laboratory results with our health dashboard.
Upload your lab reports and get interpretation today.
Our technology helps to understand, combine, track, organize, and act on your medical lab test results.
Positive and strongly-positive results for IgG and IgM phospholipid (cardiolipin) antibodies (>40 GPL and/or >40 MPL) are diagnostic criteria for antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Lesser levels of IgG and IgM phospholipid (cardiolipin) antibodies and antibodies of the IgA isotype may occur in patients with clinical signs of APS but the results are not considered diagnostic. Phospholipid (cardiolipin) antibodies must be detected on 2 or more occasions at least 12 weeks apart to fulfill the laboratory diagnostic criteria for APS. An IgA phospholipid (cardiolipin) antibody result above 15 APL with negative IgG and IgM phospholipids (cardiolipin) antibody results is not diagnostic for APS.
These infection-induced antibodies are usually transient and are not associated with an increased risk of clinical complications. In general, all patients who test positive for Anticardiolipin antibodies should be retested after six to eight weeks to rule out transient antibodies that are usually of no clinical significance.
- Individuals with the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) have an increased risk for stroke, myocardial infarction, venous thrombosis, thromboembolism, thrombocytopenia, and/or recurrent miscarriages.
- Slightly or moderately positive results are sometimes temporarily observed in older individuals with no symptoms following an infection or after taking a medication. These results are most often of little clinical significance but must be interpreted along with other clinical information.
- Moderately or very high levels of anticardiolipin antibodies that persist for 12 weeks or more indicate a continued presence of these autoantibodies and an increased risk of abnormal clots and miscarriages.
- Anticardiolipin antibodies are often present in individuals with the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome.
- Anticardiolipin antibodies can often be observed during the convalescent phase of acute bacterial and viral infections and in individuals with syphilis.
- Anticardiolipin antibodies are frequently observed in patients with other autoimmune disorders and malignancies. Individuals with Anticardiolipin antibodies secondary to these other conditions are at increased risk of developing APS. A variety of therapeutic drugs can induce the production of Anticardiolipin antibodies. These drug-induced antibodies may be clinically significant if they persist. Anti-cardiolipin antibodies are by definition a major criterion for a diagnosis of APS. They are found in around 30-40% of patients with SLE (=Systemic lupus erythematosus). In both patients with primary and SLE associated APS positive results correlate with a predisposition for arterial or venous thrombosis, foetal loss, or thrombocytopenia. However, levels of anticardiolipin antibodies do not correlate well with disease activity or with specific features of SLE such as arthritis or renal involvement. Nevertheless, the presence of these autoantibodies serves as a marker for the risk of a thromboembolic event. Those SLE patients exhibiting high levels of these autoantibodies are 4 times more likely to have such an event than those not expressing the autoantibodies. Anti-cardiolipin antibodies are associated with recurrent spontaneous abortion and with thrombotic events in mothers shortly after birth. They are also found in up to 20% of young stroke patients. Anti-phospholipid antibodies are also found in infections including syphilis, malaria, parasitic diseases and infectious mononucleosis. Indeed, anticardiolipin antibodies can be transiently elevated in many infections. For this reason, positive results should always be confirmed after 8 -12 weeks.
Interpret Your Lab Results
Upload your lab report and we’ll interpret and provide you with recomendations today.
Get StartedGet Started With Our Personal Plan
Advanced Plan
Unlimited Plan
Are You a Health Professional?
Get started with our professional plan
Welcome to Healthmatters Pro.
Save time on interpreting lab results with the largest database of biomarkers online. In-depth research on any test at your fingertips, all stored and tracked in one place. Learn more
Pro Plan
for health professionals
$45 per month
At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.
14.3.3 ETA PROTEIN, Acetylcholine Receptor (AChR) Antibody, Activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), Alpha 2-Macroglobulins, Qn, ANA SCREEN, IFA, ANA titer, Anti-DBL-Strand DNA Ab, Anti-Smith Antibody, Anticardiolipin Ab, IgM, Anticardiolipin Ab,IgA,Qn, Anticardiolipin Ab,IgG,Qn, Antinuclear Antibodies Direct (ANA Direct), Antiphosphatidylserine IgA, Antiphosphatidylserine IgG, Antiphosphatidylserine IgM, C1 Esterase Inhibitor, Func, C1 Esterase Inhibitor, Serum, C3A Desarg Fragment, CARDIOLIPIN AB (IGA), CARDIOLIPIN AB (IGG), CARDIOLIPIN AB (IGM), CCP Antibodies IgG/IgA, Complement C3, Complement C3a, Complement C4, Serum, Complement C4a, Complement, Total (CH50), Complement, Total (CH50) / Quest, Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide Antibody, Dilute Russell's viper venom time (dRVVT), DRVVT SCREEN, ds-DNA Antibody, IgG, Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR), Free Kappa Lt Chains, Serum, Free Lambda Lt Chains, Serum, Gastrin, Histamine, Plasma, HLA-B27 (Human Leukocyte Antigen B27), Immature Grans (Abs), Immature Granulocytes (%), Immunofixation Result, Serum, Immunoglobulin A, Qn, Serum, Immunoglobulin D, Quant, Serum, Immunoglobulin E, Total, Immunoglobulin G, Qn, Serum, Immunoglobulin M, Qn, Serum, Interleukin-2, Serum, Interleukin-6, Jo 1 Antibodies, IgG, Serum, Kappa/Lambda Ratio, Serum, Liver-Kidney Microsomal Antibodies, Lupus Anticoagulant, PHOSPHATIDYLETHANOLAMINE AB (IGA), PHOSPHATIDYLETHANOLAMINE AB (IGG), PHOSPHATIDYLETHANOLAMINE AB (IGM), PHOSPHATIDYLSERINE AB (IGA), PHOSPHATIDYLSERINE AB (IGG), PHOSPHATIDYLSERINE AB (IGM), Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor (PAI-1) AG, Prothrombin Fragment 1.2, Prothrombin Time (PT), Prothrombin Time (PT) INR, RA Latex Turbid, Reptilase Clotting Time, Rheumatoid factor, TGF-b1, Thrombin time, Thrombin-Antithrombin TAT, Transforming Growth Factor beta, Plasma, Tryptase, VEGF, Plasma