Welcome to my 8-part Autoimmune Fertility series

Learn About How Antinuclear Antibodies Affect Your Fertility

This is Part I, Blog I, focusing on how Antinuclear antibodies (ANA’s) affect your fertility. Here you will learn about what Antinuclear antibodies are and tests to check them. Blog II will discuss things you can do if you have high ANA’s.

If you are a woman who has had multiple miscarriages

or failed In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) cycles,

Antinuclear antibodies can be especially important.

First: what is an “antibody”? Antibodies are normal parts of your immune system. They float around in your blood stream and tissues to keep your system healthy. Antibodies do this by scanning your body to locate intruders or foreign substances. Intruders are things like bacteria or viruses. In some cases, antibodies may attack your own tissues. Hence autoimmune problems: this is when the body attacks itself.

So antibodies can be helpful and some can cause problems. With respect to fertility, the presence of very specific and high levels of antibodies, like Antinuclear antibodies (ANA’s) can impact getting pregnant and carrying to term.

Fertility issues associated with high levels of Antinuclear antibodies (ANA’s) 1, 2
Reduced egg quality	Failed IVF cycles
Impaired embryo development	Infertility
Recurrent miscarriage/Recurrent Pregnancy Loss	Ovarian dysfunction
Endometriosis

Blood tests for ANA’s are measured as titers

ANA Titer of 1:20=“Negative”

ANA Titer of 1:40 or greater=“Significant”

ANA Titer of 1:40 to 1:80=“Low positive”

ANA Titer of 1:160 to 1:320=“Moderate positive”

ANA Titer of equal to or greater than 1:640=“High”

{Please note that these ANA’s can be further broken down into specific types of ANA’s, but for the purposes of this blog, I will not elaborate on those. Doctors specializing in reproductive immunology often run further ANA testing panels if general ANA testing results are high.}

A word about lab tests 

Results of lab tests are best reviewed and monitored by your physician and team of licensed providers such as acupuncturists, RNs, nurse practitioners etc.

It is wise to consider results within the context of your present health, your current goals, and also comparing newest results to former results. Looking at lab test results over periods of time can give you and your team valuable information about your fertility.

To illustrate this, here are several examples looking at ANA levels for very different women:

• One of my patients is a woman not seeking to become pregnant. She has ANA titers which fluctuate between 1:20 to 1:60. Her mother and siblings have Rheumatoid arthritis. She knows that acupuncture is ideal for helping regulate the immune system and reduce general levels of inflammation. Considering her genetics, her goal is to proactively monitor her lab work and get acupuncture. For her, these mild ANA ups and downs are not currently associated with changes in her health or developing autoimmune connective tissue problems.

 

• In contrast, I have had fertility patients who show seemingly small rises in their ANA titers (ie: from 1:40 to 1:60) and these are accompanied by a failed IVF cycle. The bump up in ANA titers is significant for these women, because the climbing numbers reflect a flare in their immune systems.

 

In your quest to become pregnant,

do educate yourself.

If immune testing is applicable,

please seek the expertise of both medical doctors and trained complimentary care providers.

High Antinuclear antibodies are generally found with these medical diagnoses
Dermatomyositis	General collagen vascular diseases
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)	Scleroderma polymyositis
Sjogren’s syndrome	Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
Systemic sclerosis

Medications known to elevate ANA²

Apresoline                                 (Hydralazine)                 ~ Used for high blood pressure

Procanbid/Pronestyl               (Procainamide)              ~Used for irregular heart rhythm

Isonicotinylhydtrazine (INH)(Isoniazid)                      ~Antibiotic

 

Part I, Blog II of Learn About How Antinuclear Antibodies (ANA’s) Affect Your Fertility is next. It will have specific information about what you can do if you have positive ANA titers and fertility challenges. Stayed tuned for that post to be released next Tuesday, 7/25/17!

¹Li, Y., Wang, Y., Ma, Y., Lan, Y., Jia, C., Liang, Y., Wang, S. (2015). Investigation of the impact of antinuclear antibody on the outcome of in vitro fertilizations/intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment. The Taiwanese Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 54, 742-748. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tog.2015.09.001

²Li, Y Molazadeh, M., Karimazadeh, H., Azizi, M.R. (2014). Prevalence and clinical significance of antinuclear antibodies in Iranian women with unexplained recurrent miscarriage. Iran Journal of Reproductive Medicine, 12 (3) 221-226.

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Karen Reynolds, LAc, RN Acupuncture for Optimal Health 

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Be well!

~Karen Reynolds, RN, MS, LAc

 

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