Immunological infertility – symptoms
Immunological infertility itself is quite difficult to identify, but it may be suspected in situations where, for example:
- recurrent miscarriages occur in a woman,
- the cause of the couple's infertility remains unknown despite extensive diagnostics,
- frequent inflammation of the intimate areas or skin lesions occur in the woman or man,
- a woman is accompanied by conditions such as Hashimoto's disease, celiac disease, or endometriosis.
Immunological infertility – diagnostics
If detailed diagnostics performed on a couple diagnosed with infertility do not allow for determining the cause of such a state, the doctor may then incline toward expanding it with additional immunological tests. Immunological tests aim to identify autoimmune abnormalities such as antiphospholipid, antithyroid, and anti-sperm antibodies (ASA). They can also detect more generalized immunological defects, e.g., dysregulation of NK cells, i.e., so-called natural killers belonging to immune system cells. The most common tests ordered to look for causes of infertility within the functioning of the immune system include:
- IgG, IgM, and IgA anticardiolipin antibodies,
- Lupus anticoagulant (LAC),
- Anti-beta2-glycoprotein antibodies,
- Anti-sperm antibodies (ASA),
- Anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (aTPO, Anti-TPO),
- Antinuclear antibodies (ANA2),
- Anti-smooth muscle antibodies (ASMA),
- NK cell test (Natural Killer T),
- Anti-thyroglobulin antibodies (anti-TG).
Immunological infertility – treatment
Treatment of immunological infertility depends on the cause that induces it, which is why it is very important to perform necessary tests and undergo proper diagnostics in a fertility clinic under the care of an experienced specialist, often both an immunologist and a gynecologist. The therapy is intended to influence the functioning of the immune system. Hence, in some cases, appropriate medications may be selected, including intravenous preparations administered in the form of infusions.
– In women struggling with immunological infertility who have developed antibodies that immobilize sperm, intrauterine insemination (IUI) may prove helpful. Sperm cells are then introduced directly into the uterine cavity. In this way, the vagina and cervix, whose environments may be hostile to male sperm, are bypassed. If a couple is unable to achieve conception after several IUI cycles, treatment using in vitro fertilization (IVF) should be considered, especially using the ICSI method, which involves injecting a sperm cell directly into the cytoplasm of the egg cell – adds M.D., Ph.D Jakub Malinowski from the Bocian Clinic in Łódź.
Immunological infertility and pregnancy
It should be remembered that infertility caused by immunological disorders is not a final sentence meaning no chance at all of getting pregnant. Many couples, as a result of implemented therapy and specialist support, become happy parents. Such help can be found, among others, at the Bocian Clinic facilities, where experienced doctors help fulfill dreams of parenthood every day, also using assisted reproductive technologies such as intrauterine insemination and IVF.
