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(Stroke. 2001;32:1707.)
© 2001 American Heart Association, Inc.

Original Contributions

Seasonal Distribution of Antiphospholipid Antibodies

Thanh-Ha Luong, MD; Jacob H. Rand, MD; Xiao-Xuan Wu, MD; James H. Godbold, PhD; Mayra Gascon-Lema, MS Stanley Tuhrim, MD

From the Department of Medicine (T.-H.L., J.H.R., X.-X.W., M.G.-L.), the Department of Community Medicine (J.H.G.), and the Department of Neurology (S.T.), Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY.

Correspondence to Stanley Tuhrim, MD, Department of Neurology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1137, New York, NY 10029. E-mail stanley.tuhrim{at}mountsinai.org

Background and Purpose—— The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a seasonal variation in antiphospholipid antibody (aPL) titers and whether this variation differed between stroke cases and control subjects.

Methods—— IgG and IgM anticardiolipin and antiphosphatidyl serine antibody titers were obtained on serum samples from 884 stroke patients and 1024 control subjects over a 7-year period. Temporal distributions by month of blood draw were evaluated.

Results—— Marked seasonal differences in the proportion of positive titers were found for control subjects, but no seasonal variability among patients was noted. In control subjects, positive titers occurred less frequently in the summer months, mirroring the seasonal trends seen in respiratory track infections and rheumatic fever.

Conclusions—— Our data suggest some aPL antibodies arise from different origins in patients and control subjects. The seasonality observed in the apparently normal population may be related to antibodies of infectious origin and is consistent with the reported lack of association with thrombosis of infection-related antibodies.

Key Words: antibodies, anticardiolipin • antibodies, antiphospholipid • phosphatidyl serines • stroke • seasons

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