title: Association between sperm autoantibodies and enhanced embryo implantation rates during in vitro fertilization.
abstract: Previous investigations have demonstrated the propensity of strong IgA-class sperm autoantibodies to impede fertilization. However, because there has not been a general consensus on this issue, the aim of this retrospective analysis was to focus on the effects of different levels of IgA-class antibodies on each stage of the IVF procedure. This study has confirmed that high level IgA class antibodies significantly reduce fertilization rates but, unexpectedly, also has shown a very significant improvement in embryo implantation rates in patients with weak to moderate antibody levels. Interlaboratory prospective collaborative studies are being planned to test this preliminary observation more stringently.
authors.affiliation: Andrology Unit, Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. gary.clarke@rch.org.au
authors.forename: Gary N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Clarke
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D010064:Embryo Implantation / Q000276:immunology*; D004624:Embryo Transfer / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007246:Infertility / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000276:immunology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies