Ovarian reserve in women with primary antiphospholipid syndrome

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to evaluate ovarian reserve in primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS) women and the association between ovarian reserve tests and clinical and laboratorial parameters, and anti-corpus luteum antibody (anti-CoL). METHODS: We screened 85 female patients between 18 to 40 years old with APS. Of these, 67 patients were excluded because of association with other autoimmune diseases (n = 42), contraindication or unwillingness to stop hormonal contraceptive (n = 21), current pregnancy or breastfeeding (n = 3) and previous ovarian surgery (n = 1). Therefore, a cross-sectional study was conducted in 18 PAPS patients and 24 healthy women. They were evaluated at early follicular phase with measurement of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol, and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and sonographic antral follicle count (AFC). Serum measurement of anti-CoL was determined by immunoblot analysis. All analyses were performed after at least six months from the last intake of hormonal contraceptive and resumption of menstruation. RESULTS: The mean age was comparable in PAPS and controls (33.0 ± 5.0 vs. 30.4 ± 7.0 years; p = 0.19). Regarding ovarian reserve tests, the frequencies of low AFC (≤10) (56% vs. 22%, p = 0.04) and very low AFC (≤5) (37% vs. 9%, p = 0.04) were significantly higher in PAPS patients than controls. Trends of higher frequencies of reduced (<1.0 ng/ml), low (<0.5 ng/ml) and negligible (<0.2 ng/ml) AMH levels were found in PAPS patients (p = 0.08, p = 0.07 and p = 0.07, respectively). FSH, LH and estradiol were similar in patients and controls. There was no association between low ovarian reserve and specific types of antiphospholipid antibodies. Anti-CoL was solely observed in PAPS patients (11% vs. 0%; p = 0.177) and was not related to ovarian reserve tests. CONCLUSION: Women suffering from PAPS possessed reduced ovarian reserve, with prevalence greater than 50%.