Publication Cover
Human Fertility
an international, multidisciplinary journal dedicated to furthering research and promoting good practice
Volume 5, 2002 - Issue 1
63
Views
22
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Article

Antiphospholipid antibodies and infertility

, &
Pages 30-34 | Published online: 03 Jul 2009
 

Abstract

Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) are an established cause of recurrent pregnancy loss. As defective embryonic implantation is a common link between unexplained infertility and recurrent miscarriage, interest has focused on the potential relationship between aPL and implantation failure after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET). This review critically examines the published data to determine whether women undergoing IVF-ET should be routinely screened for aPL. Although most studies have reported an increased prevalence of aPL among women undergoing IVF-ET, prospective studies examining the effect of aPL on the outcome of IVF-ET demonstrate that these antibodies do not significantly affect either the implantation or ongoing pregnancy rates. The increased prevalence of aPL among women with infertility is therefore likely to be part of a generalized autoimmune disturbance associated with infertility. Hence routine screening for aPL among women undergoing IVF-ET is not warranted and therapeutic interventions should be used only in well designed randomized controlled trials.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.