The relationship between antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) and multiple sclerosis (MS) is unclear.
To evaluate a link between aPL and MS.
EMBASE and PubMed search to August 2016; Peto's odds ratio (OR) meta-analysis.
The pooled prevalence of participants positive for IgG and IgM anticardiolipin (aCL) from 12 case-control studies was superior in MS than controls (6.8% vs 1.8%, p = 0.01 and 8.58% vs 2.18%, p = 0.001) with medium and high heterogeneities respectively (I
Data from case-control studies do not support a link between IgG/IgM aPL and MS. Data from cohort studies comparing active vs stable MS indicate a strong link between aPL of IgM isotype and active/relapsing MS but in the absence of aPL titres to comment upon this may either represent an epiphenomenon of active neuro-inflammation or natural autoantibodies devoid of pathogenic potential. Data expressed as frequency of aPL positive participants rather than average titres preclude further assumptions.