ANTICARDIOLIPIN ANTIBODIES IN SEXUAL PARTNERS OF RECURRENT ABORTERS

The presence of anti-cardiolipin antibodies (aCL) in women is an estab lished risk factor for fetal loss, hut these autoantibodies had not pr eviously been investigated in the male partners of recurrent aborters, The prevalence of aCL in 144 male partners of couples with a history of recurrent miscarriage was 4,2%, which compares with 2,8% for 177 fe male partners of such couples, 5.9% of 254 Mood donors (128 male, 126 female) and 0% of 74 women of good obstetric history sampled in the pu erperium, In recurrent miscarriage couples, the presence of aCL in the women was associated with a poorer history and outlook, but these ass ociations were not evident in couples where the male partner had aCL, The aCL of male partners also differed from those of their spouses in being less likely to show higher activity towards phosphatidylserine t han towards phosphatidylcholine. A particular sub-population of aCL ma g be strongly represented in the male partners, the clinical significa nce of which remains to be established.