Case Studies
There
are
many instances of sufferers who were confined to wheelchairs before diagnosis
and who now lead normal lives after proper treatment for Hughes Syndrome. People
desperate for children who suffered multiple miscarriages now enjoy their
enriched family lives with their sons and daughters. Sufferers who were wrongly
diagnosed, spending large sums on medication, aids and treatments for diseases
which they did not have, are now properly diagnosed and treated. Details are
available from the Hughes Syndrome Foundation, which you can join for a nominal
annual sum, and
from the Foundation’s website.
Common
indicators
of
the condition include severe migraine and memory loss, loss of sensation and
movement disorders. Many cases are wrongly diagnosed as Alzheimers Disease or
Multiple Sclerosis.
Diagnosis
Hughes
Syndrome can be diagnosed by means of two simple blood tests. Because the
antibodies in the blood can increase or decrease, not everyone who is a sufferer
will record positive every time they are tested for Hughes Syndrome. The major
advance with the studies into Hughes Syndrome is DIAGNOSIS. If correct diagnosis
can be made, huge improvements follow with correct treatment. Huge sums are
wasted with the prescribing of unnecessary, incorrect and expensive drug
therapy. Two out of five of Dr Hughes’
Antiphospholipid patients at
St Thomas
’ Hospital in
London
have previously been misdiagnosed and treated with expensive drugs to treat MS,
which does the patients no good at all.
Treatment
The
condition is often easily treated with blood thinners, or anticoagulants, such
as aspirin, heparin or warfarin. Dr
Graham Hughes,
a Consultant Rheumatologist at
St Thomas
’
Hospital,
London
, first reported the condition in his clinic and laboratory some twenty years
ago. He noticed that in some patients the blood clots too quickly, and the
consequences include strokes, heart attacks and recurrent miscarriage. Many
millions of people around the world suffer from Hughes Syndrome, and its
contribution to serious illness and death is only recently becoming recognised.
Pregnancy
& Hughes Syndrome
In
pregnant women sufferers, the blood is often unable to flow through the small
and delicate blood vessels to the placenta and foetus. The placenta withers, and
the baby is aborted. Hughes Syndrome has come to be regarded as an important
cause of recurrent miscarriage. Pregnancy success rate in diagnosed and treated
patients has increased from under 20% to over 70%.
Flying
& Hughes Syndrome
Patients
who test positive for Hughes Syndrome should take medical advice before
long-haul air trips if they are not anticoagulated. Many incidences of deep vein
thrombosis after such flights – so-called ‘economy class syndrome’ – are
now believed to be a result of Hughes Syndrome, not the
cramped conditions of the aircraft.
Further information about Hughes Syndrome can be found at the
following places
Hughes Syndrome Foundation
The
Rayne Institute,
St Thomas
’ Hospital,
London
SE1 7EH
Phone 020 7188 8217 Fax 020 7633 0462
Charity
registration no. 1089077
e-mail:
hsf@btclick.com
