Medical News Today -- An article published Online First and in the November edition of The Lancet Neurology reports that women with a particular subtype of antibody called lupus anticoagulant (LA) have a more than 40-fold increased risk of stroke. Moreover, they have a 5-fold increased risk of heart attack compared with the general population of young women. The autoimmune condition antiphospholipid syndrome mostly affects young women. The use of oral contraceptive and smoking increase the risks all the more. The article is the work of Dr Rolf Urbanus and Dr Philip de Groot, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Netherlands, in cooperation with colleagues from the Leiden University Medical Centre.
