Hello Mindy
APS is a condition where the blood has a tendency to clot or be 'thicker' than normal. Like lupus it affects people differently. Some APS symptoms that affect the central nervous system may resemble symptoms caused by features of lupus such as vasculitis, or they may result from other conditions that accompany the lupus, such as fibromyalgia or Sjogren's or hyperviscosity syndromes
For ways in which APS might affect people see
http://www.hughes-syndrome.org/snapshot.htm
There is a discussion of CNS Lupus in posts stuck at the top of this forum.
The major neurologic symptoms of lupus are:
Cognitive dysfunction
Headache
Seizure
Altered mental alertness ( eg stupor or coma)
Aseptic meningitis
Stroke
Peripheral neuropathy ( numbness, tingling & burning sensations)
Movement disorders
Paralysis
Altered behaviour
Visual changes
Autonomic neuropathy (eg mottling of skin, flushing )
(From Dr Wallace The Lupus Book 2cnd Edition p 100 )
Dr Wallace sums up " A wide array of possibilities may account for any given symptom and a careful work up is necessary in order to avoid inappropriate therapy. Drugs, infections and non - lupus related disorders first have to be ruled out as a cause of the complaint or manifestation. Blood and spinal fluid tests, brain imaging, electrical studies, and neurocognitive evaluations help the physician to arrive at a diagnosis " ( p 115)
The tests for APS are Lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipins often with the beta2 glycoprotein test which helps distinguish autoimmune disease from infectious causes such as Lyme or HIV or syphilis. Both these tests should be repeated at at least six weeks intervals.
Clare