Immune system disorder may be the cause of unexplained infertility

Apr 18 2007

It's been a topic on Sex and the City and was rumored to be a problem for a popular sitcom star when she and her husband were trying to conceive.

The problem is often referred to as immunologic infertility.

Recent research suggests that some pregnancies were lost or conception does not occur because the immune system of the mother attacks and rejects the embryo.

"Specific treatments have been developed to change this process and allow pregnancies to happen and go forward to delivery. In fact, most of these treatments have been highly successful," says Dr. Mark Denker, Medical Director of the Palm Beach Fertility Center. "For years we've aggressively treated miscarriages or problems of infertility caused by the mother's immune system with unbelievable success."

Sometimes pregnancy can be lost so early that there was never a positive pregnancy test. This is called implantation failure. Unfortunately there is no way to definitely know about most implantation failures. "We cannot rely on pregnancy tests because the loss is before the pregnancy hormone (HCG) is produced. Thus, the pregnancy test will be negative in cases of implantation failure. Fortunately, this condition is easily diagnosed and treated," says Dr Denker.

"It seems strange to believe that the body is able to reject something like a pregnancy or an early embryo," says Dr. Denker. "The cause of the rejection appears to be over-activity of the body's natural immune system."

This was the problem for a couple from Dubai who tried several times with many infertility doctors in the US and over seas to get pregnant.

"We've already spent over $70,000 on infertility treatments then I read an article about a TV star on how her immune system was not allowing her to get pregnant," says Nancellen Stahl. "I flew back to the United States to meet with Dr. Denker and his staff. Dr. Denker ran tests for immune problems and I found out that I had natural killer cells that attack sperm and embryos."

Dr. Denker treated Stahl and she's now the mother of a two-year-old little girl and is six months pregnant with twins.