Biomedical Research

Immunologic factors are considered as important cause for infertility. One of the immu-nologic factors proposed for infertility is presence of antisperm antibodies (ASA) in serum. ASA are found in cervical mucus, seminal plasma and sera of men and women. It is possible for couples with antisperm antibodies occasionally to beat the odds and become pregnant. Acquisition of genital tract infection following the initial pregnancy can lead to subsequent development of antisperm antibodies. So the aim of this study was to find out the incidence of antisperm antibodies in primary and secondary infertile couples of central India. A cross sec-tional study included 109 couples suffering from infertility referred to the Reproductive Bi-ology Unit, MGIMS, Sevagram. Presence of antisperm antibodies (IgG and IgA classes) was estimated in the serum by Varelisa Sperm Antibodies kit method. Out of 109 infertile cou-ples, antibodies were observed in 37 couples of primary infertility and 15 couples of secon-dary infertility. The percentage incidence was 52.12% and 39.47% in primary infertility and secondary infertility. It is concluded that although the difference in the incidence of ASA in primary & secondary infertility is not statistically significant, its detection can provide a clue to the aetiologic factor in such couples.

Author(s): Maria Khatoon, AR Chaudhari, Ramji Singh, S Prajapati
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