HIGH-LEVELS OF ANTICARDIOLIPIN ANTIBODIES IN PATIENTS WITH ABNORMAL EMBRYO MORPHOLOGY WHO ATTENDED AN IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION PROGRAM

PROBLEM: Recently, it has been suggested that anticardiolipin antibodi es (ACAs) may serve as possible markers for reproductive failure. The association between ACAs and embryo morphology in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) was investigated. METHOD OF STUDY: This p rospective study comprised 117 patients with either tubal factor or un explained infertility. Embryo morphology was blindly scored from I to IV according to blastomere regularity and the presence of fragments. A nticardiolipin antibodies (immunoglobulin [Ig] G and IgM) were detecte d. RESULTS: Anticardiolipin antibodies were found in 26 (50%) of the 5 2 patients with abnormal morphology, compared with 13 (20%) of the 65 patients with normal embryo morphology (P = 0.001). No statistically s ignificant differences were found between the prevalence of ACAs among patients with tubal factor and those with unexplained infertility (29 .6% and 36.5%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows an associat ion between embryo morphology and the presence of ACAs. This associati on may explain the low implantation rate and early pregnancy loss in p atients with ACAs.