Ovulation induction and early pregnancy loss in a woman susceptible to autoimmune diseases: a possible interrelationship

Abstract

We report a 34-year-old woman with sequentially occurring autoimmune diseases that are possibly triggered by numerous ovulation inductions. At the ages of 26–32 years, she experienced 21 uncontrolled ovulation induction cycles using clomiphene citrate (CC) or CC plus human menopausal gonadotropin plus human chorionic gonadotropin. She became pregnant at the ages of 27, 30 and 31 with subsequent pregnancy loss in the 28th, 8th and 10th week of gestation, respectively. Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) developed at the age of 28. During the second year of ovulation induction, at the age of 27, she developed arthralgia that worsened and became migratory from the age of 31. Thrombocytopenia appeared at the age of 33. The diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) was established at the age of 34. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of concurrent IDDM, SLE and APS in a patient associated with ovulation inductions. Excessive levels of estradiol achieved during the ovulation inductions could play a role in the expression of multiple autoimmune diseases in the susceptible woman.

Key Words:

• Ovulation Induction
• Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus
• Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
• Antiphospholipid Syndrome
• Autoimmune Disease