The place of non-criteria antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) in the diagnosis of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is still debatable. The aim of this research was to evaluate the correlations between the titres of non-criteria aPLs (anti-phosphatidylethanolamine (aPE), anti-phosphatidylserine (aPS), and anti-prothrombin (aPT) antibodies), and the ones of the already studied criteria aPLs (anti-cardiolipin (aCL) and anti-β2 glycoprotein I-aβ2GPI antibodies). Altogether, 72 APS (30 primary and 42 secondary) patients were included in our study. High correlation coefficients (rs) were found between aPS IgM and aCL IgM, overall (0.77, p < 0.01), as well as in the primary (0.81, p < 0.01), and secondary (0.75, p < 0.01) APS subgroups. Low or statistically insignificant correlations were observed between IgG/IgM isotypes of aPT and aCL, or aβ2GPI, in the entire study population, and when evaluating the subgroups. Therefore, moderate correlations were mainly identified between the tested non-criteria antibodies and the criteria ones, suggesting little added value for the use of the tested non-criteria aPLs, with the exception of aPT, which seems to have different kinetics and might be a promising APS diagnostic tool.

Complete aortic occlusion is a rare pathology with various possible etiologies. According to current data, it is most frequently caused by atherosclerosis. However, thrombosis or vasculitis could also be involved. We present the case of a 42-year-old female with chronic complete distal aortic occlusion, associated pulmonary embolism and positive antiphospholipid antibodies. The patient had an obstetric history suggestive of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). She presented with typical intermittent claudication symptoms persisting for approximately five years at the time of admission. Arteriography revealed complete infrarenal aortic occlusion and the presence of collateral arteries. Aortoiliac bypass surgery was performed. This case emphasizes an unusual, yet possible, etiology of chronic aortic occlusion—most probably, combining atherosclerosis and chronic thrombosis—in a relatively young patient, in which the diagnosis was significantly delayed due to the peculiar association of traits.

Lung involvement is the most common extraglandular manifestation of primary Sjögren’s Disease (pSjD). There is an increasing interest in finding the clinical/serological risk predictors of this feature. A cross-sectional study evaluating anti-SSA/Ro antibodies, anti-SSB/La antibodies, rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibodies, and the diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO) in 26 pSjD patients who presented interstitial changes on the chest CT scan was performed. The titres and positivity rates for anti-SSA/Ro (p = 0.02, p = 0.02) and anti-SSB/La antibodies (p = 0.01, p = 0.001) proved to be significantly increased in patients with abnormal DLCO. Anti-SSB/La antibodies’ titres seemed to be the best predictor for decreased DLCO–AUC 0.791 (0.587–0.994), p = 0.016. A close-to-significance decrease was found in the titres (p = 0.07) and positivity rates—p = 0.09 and OR of 0.15 (0.01–1.63)—of anti-SSB/La antibodies in patients with usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP), indicating their possible protective role against UIP. The lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis (LIP) pattern on lung CT scan was significantly associated with the simultaneous positivity of the four examined serological markers (p = 0.03). The increase in anti-SSB/La antibody positivity rate in patients with LIP patterns was situated close to the significance level (p = 0.09). Quadruple positivity, as well as isolated anti-SSB/La positivity, could be risk factors for developing LIP in pSjD patients. Thus, anti-SSB/La antibodies might represent a marker of lung involvement in pSjD patients.

Cancer patients have higher prevalences of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs), occasionally associated with thrombotic events. A cross-sectional study regarding the presence of criteria (IgG/IgM anti-cardiolipin-aCL, anti-β2 glycoprotein I-aβ2GPI) and non-criteria (IgG/IgM anti-phosphatidylserine-aPS, anti-phosphatidylethanolamine-aPE, anti-prothrombin-aPT) aPLs in 146 patients with involuntary weight loss was performed. None of the patients had thrombotic events during the study. Out of the 36 cancer patients, 33 had non-hematologic malignancies. In the cancer subgroup, 60% of the patients had at least one positive aPL, with significantly more patients being positive for aβ2GPI IgG compared with the non-cancer subgroup—p = 0.03, OR = 2.23 (1.02–4.88). When evaluating the titres, aCL IgG/IgM, aβ2GPI IgG, aPE IgG, and aPS IgG had significantly higher values in cancer patients, the best cancer predictor being aβ2GPI IgG—AUC 0.642 (0.542–0.742). Gastrointestinal cancer patients were studied separately, and aCL IgM positivity was significantly higher—p = 0.008, OR = 6.69 (1.35–33.02). Both the titres of aCL IgM (p = 0.006) and aPS IgM (p = 0.03) were higher in the gastrointestinal cancer subgroup, with aCL IgM being the best predictor for gastrointestinal cancer development—AUC 0.808 (0.685–0.932). Despite criteria and non-criteria aPLs being frequent in cancer, their connection with thrombosis in these patients is probably dependent on other important risk factors and needs further research.