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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on July 3, 2007
Human Reproduction 2007 22(9):2494-2500; doi:10.1093/humrep/dem179
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Anticardiolipin antibody levels in women undergoing first in vitro fertilization/embryo transfer

D. Caccavo1,3, N.M. Pellegrino1, F. Lorusso2, M. Capotorto2, M. Vacca2, A. Vimercati2 and R. Depalo2

1 Department of Clinical Medicine, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, University of Bari, Bari, Italy 2 Department of Gynaecology, Obstetrics and Neonatology, University of Bari, Bari, Italy

3 Correspondence address. Tel: +39 080-547-8494; Fax: +39 080-547-8493; E-mail: caccavo{at}midim.uniba.it

BACKGROUND: The clinical relevance of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) in women undergoing in vitro fertilization/embryo transfer (IVF/ET) and the role of IVF treatment in affecting antiphospholipid levels are controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate anticardiolipin antibody (aCL) levels and the effect of IVF treatment on aCL in women undergoing their first IVF/ET cycle.

METHODS: Immunoglobulin G (IgG)- and IgM-aCL were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 50 women undergoing IVF/ET, 18 due to endometriosis, 16 to tubal factor (TF) and 16 to male factor, before starting treatment (T0), on the day of oocyte retrieval (T1) and 14 days after ET (T2). A group of 31 age-matched fertile women served as controls.

RESULTS: aCL levels detected at T0 in patients were not significantly different compared with the control group. IgG- but not IgM-aCL significantly increased at T2 in comparison with T0 (P < 0.001) and T1 (P < 0.05). The difference between T2 and T0 reached statistical significance in patients with endometriosis (P = 0.003) or TF (P = 0.018). No relationship was found between aCL and pregnancy.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that IVF treatment increases IgG-aCL levels in patients with endometriosis and TF, but their presence seems to have no clinical relevance.

Key words: IVF/ET/hyperestrogenism/anticardiolipin antibodies/pregnancy

Submitted on February 27, 2007; resubmitted on May 16, 2007; accepted on May 21, 2007.


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