Ricerc@Sapienza

Introduction: : The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) in infertile women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). Method of study: : From January 2012 to December 2017, 520 consecutive clinical records of infertile women undergoing IVF were evaluated. Among them, 100 consecutive clinical records of patients with positive autoantibodies were selected. Results: : In 100/520 (19.23%) women, positive auto-antibodies were detected: 35/520 (6.73%) fulfilled classification criteria for a systemic disease.

Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by arterial and venous thrombosis and/or pregnancy morbidity. The incidence is around five new cases/100,000 persons per year and the prevalence is around 40-50 cases/100,000. The prevalence is higher (about 30%) among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. APS is associated with circulating antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs), a heterogeneous group of autoantibodies directed against negatively charged molecules and a combination of protein-complexed phospholipids.