What is antiphospholipid syndrome?

I have been diagnosed with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome & my cousin was diagnoised with MTHFR...?

• Both are blood clotting disorders that affect pregnancy and are treated in similar ways. While I reserched this I found that the two are actually different types of the same thing. The sites that describe MTHFR are so technical that they may as well have been in a different language. The cause of antiphospholipid antibody syndrome in unknown while MTHFR is genitic. Could anyone explain this in a simplier way.

• Answer:

  Okay, antiphospholipid syndrome means you have an antibody to "phospholipids" in your own body. Meaning it is an autoimmune disease - your body is attacking itself. Antibodies are formed when your immune system finds something in your body that it thinks is foreign and it attacks it and creates antibodies. Normally this process is a good thing because when viruses and bacteria gain entry into your body your immune system goes to work by killing the invading germ and makes a memory of it (antibody). So if you come into contact again with something that you were infected with before then you won't get sick the second time because the antibody does its job and eliminates the threat. In people that have auto-immune diseases the immune system fails to identify parts of the body as self and makes antibodies to components in your body. Methylene-Tetra-Hydro-Folate-Reductase - it is gene mutation that if you get two copies for the gene, one from each parent you could have increased levels of homocysteine. If you only get one copy of the mutated gene then you are likely okay. Treatment for MTHRF is only necessary if you actually have increased levels of Homocysteine. Increased levels of Homocysteine can cause: abnormal clotting of the blood which would put you at increased risk for blood clots, strokes, heart attacks, heart disease and anything to do with your blood vessels. Check out this website about Homocysteine: http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/articles/249.htm I hope I helped some.