Treatment of impaired folate metabolism caused by an autoimmune response might improve the chances of conception among certain women with fertility problems, research suggests.
Michelle Murphy (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain) and colleagues report women who tested positive for folate receptor (FR)-blocking autoantibodies were 12 times more likely to have fertility problems than those testing negative.
Observing that folate cell delivery is important in reproductive processes, the team tested for the presence of FR-blocking autoantibodies in repeated blood samples collected 10–12 weeks apart from 17 women who had failed to conceive during 12 menstrual cycles and 25 controls who had experienced a normal conception and pregnancy outcome.
Overall, five (29 percent) women with subfertility had at least one positive FR-blocking autoantibody titer, compared with just one (4 percent) women in the control group. Statistical analysis confirmed that testing positive for FR-blocking autoantibodies was a significant risk factor for subfertility (odds ratio = 12).
“Further investigation is required to understand the nature of the association between FR autoimmunity and subfertility and the potential benefits of using immune suppressants, corticosteroids, and high-dose folic acid in this disorder,” the researchers propose.
Source: Fertility and Sterility 2008; Advance online publication
No comments:
Post a Comment