Anti-phosphatidylserine/prothrombin antibodies are not frequently found in patients with unexplained recurrent miscarriages.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the presence of anti-phosphatidylserine/ prothrombin antibodies (anti-PS/PT) can be a major factor in otherwise unexplained recurrent miscarriages.


METHODS
Eighty-one consecutive patients with history of 2 or more recurrent miscarriages were studied. Patients with history of overt thrombotic events were not included. Patients were examined for plausible causes of miscarriages, and titer of IgG, IgM and IgA anti-PS/PT were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).


RESULTS
Thirty-five patients had one or more plausible causes of recurrent miscarriages, including 12 positive for well-established anti-phospholipid antibodies, such as anti-beta2-glycoprotein I. None of the patients included in this study was found to be positive for anti-PS/PT.


CONCLUSIONS
Detection of anti-PS/PT in addition to other anti-phospholipid antibodies does not seem to aid in the evaluation of patients with unexplained recurrent miscarriages.
Tsutsumi
A
A
Department of Medicine II, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan. atsutsum@md.tsukuba.ac.jp
Atsumi
T
T
Yamada
H
H
Hirayama  Kato
E
E
Ichikawa
K
K
Fujimoto
S
S
Koike
T
T
D000026:Abortion, Habitual / Q000276:immunology*; D000328:Adult; D017152:Antibodies, Antiphospholipid / Q000097:blood*; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010718:Phosphatidylserines / Q000276:immunology*; D011516:Prothrombin / Q000276:immunology*
D017152:Antibodies, Antiphospholipid; D001323:Autoantibodies; D010718:Phosphatidylserines; D011516:Prothrombin