Anti-phospholipid syndrome associated with schizophrenia description of five patients and review of the literature

Anti-phospholipid syndrome is an autoimmune disorder characterized by anti-phospholipid antibodies, arterial and venous thrombosis, pregnancy morbidity, and various neurological manifestations including psychiatric disorders. Higher incidence of various autoimmune disorders was found in schizophrenia. In addition, an association between the presence of anti-phospholipid antibodies and schizophrenia or psychosis was previously described, mainly as case reports. Although initially believed to be a result of neuroleptic treatment, the reasons for this association remain obscure. Several theories on the etiologic basis of schizophrenia that may explain this association were proposed including an immune basis of schizophrenia and a genetic locus of the disease in the human leukocyte antigens area. Herein, we present a series of five patients diagnosed with both schizophrenia and anti-phospholipid syndrome and their characteristics along with a comprehensive review of the current available literature on the subject in an attempt to deepen our understanding of these disorders and their pathogenesis.