An International Network to Launch Clinical
Antiphospholipid Syndrome Studies Worldwide
Antiphospholipid Syndrome is a life-threatening autoimmune disorder in which your immune system mistakenly produces antibodies against certain normal proteins in your blood – causing blood clots within your arteries or veins as well as pregnancy complications, such as miscarriages and stillbirths. Please click here to learn more about APS.
It is a leading cause of stroke in young people, responsible for 1 out of 3 strokes in people under 50, 1 out of 5 recurrent miscarriages, and up to 20% of all deep-vein blood clots (DVT).
APS ACTION is a network of internationally renowned physicians and scientists that works to find a cure for Antiphospholipid Syndrome. Members of the founding committee for APS ACTION include the list below (for the full membership list, please visit the “leadership & members” section”).
♦ Founding Members
Laura Andreoli
University of Brescia,
Brescia, Italy
Ware Branch
University of Utah School of
Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Ricard Cervera
Hospital Clinic, Barcelona,
Catalonia, Spain
Hannah Cohen
University College London
Hospitals, London, UK
Maria Cuadrado
St. Thomas Hospital,
London, England
Philip deGroot
University Medical Centre,
Utrecht, Netherlands
Ronald Derksen
University Medical Centre,
Utrecht, Netherlands
Doruk Erkan
Hospital for Special Surgery,
New York, NY, USA
Paul Fortin
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire
de Quebec, Quebec, Canada
Bill Giannakopoulos
St. George Hospital, University
of New South Wales,
Sydney, Australia
Munther Khamashta
St. Thomas Hospital,
London, England
Steve Krilis
St. George Hospital, University
of New South Wales,
Sydney, Australia
Steven R. Levine
SUNY Health Science Center, Downstate Stroke Center,
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Roger Levy
Universidade do Estado do
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Michael Lockshin
Hospital for Special Surgery,
New York, NY, USA
Pierluigi Meroni
University of Milan,
Milan, Italy
Tom Ortel
Duke University Medical Center,
Durham, NC, USA
Vittorio Pengo
University Hospital,
Padova, Italy
Silvia Pierangeli (Deceased)
University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
Guillermo Pons-Estel
Hospital Clínic, Barcelona,
Catalonia, Spain
Jacob Rand
Weill Cornell Medicine,
New York, NY, USA
Robert Roubey
University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Jane Salmon
Hospital for Special Surgery,
New York, NY, USA
Angela Tincani
University of Brescia,
Brescia, Italy
Denis Wahl
Nancy University,
Nancy, France
♦ Our Mission
PRIMARY MISSION:
To prevent, treat, and cure antiphospholipid antibody (aPL) associated clinical manifestations through high-quality, multicenter, and multidisciplinary clinical research.
SECONDARY MISSION:
To refine and advance the definitions of aPL associated clinical manifestations through international collaboration and data sharing.
APPROACH:
Members are working together to create a research alliance that will design and conduct clinical trials, and collect data via an international registry.
♦ How Did APS ACTION Get Started?
The Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS) Clinical Research Task Force (CRTF) was one of six task forces developed by the organization committee of the 13th International Congress on Antiphospholipid Antibodies (aPL), which was held in Galveston, Texas in April 2010.
The task force recommended that there is an urgent need for a true international collaborative approach to design and conduct well-designed prospective large-scale multi-center clinical trials of patients with persistent and clinically significant aPL profiles1.
Thus, an international collaborative working meeting took place in Miami (Nov 2-4, 2010) that resulted in the formation of a clinical trial research alliance entitled: AntiPhospholipid Syndrome Alliance For Clinical Trials and InternatiOnal Networking (“APS ACTION”).2,3,4
1Erkan D, Derksen R, Levy R, Machin S, Ortel T, Pierangeli S, Roubey R, Lockshin MD. Antiphospholipid Syndrome Clinical Research Task Force Report. Lupus 2011;20:219. 2Erkan D, Lockshin MD. APS ACTION. Lupus 2012;21:695. 3Barbhaiya M, Andrade D, Erkan D on Behalf of APS ACTION. APS ACTION 5-year Update. Curr Rheumatol Rep 2016;18:64. 4Erkan D, Sciascia S, Bertolaccini ML, Cohen H on Behalf of APS ACTION. APS ACTION 10-year Update. Curr Rheumatol Rep 2021;23:21.
