Familial Association of the Lupus Anticoagulant

Abstract

A lupus anticoagulant [an immediate-acting coagulation inhibitor; sometimes detectable in the plasma of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus] was detected in plasma from 2 pairs of siblings using the kaolin clotting time mixing test. Strong evidence for this inhibitor in 1 further sibling pair is presented. Although coagulation abnormalities are usually classified as either acquired or of genetic origin it is apparent that the lupus anticoagulant might often be an acquired coagulation defect requiring genetic predisposition.