Anti-annexin A5 antibodies in women with spontaneous pregnancy loss

Background and Objective: The aim was to evaluate the role of anti-annexin A5 (anti-ANXA5) antibodies as risk factor for recurrent miscarriage (RM) and unexplained fetal loss (UFL). Patients and methods: Retrospective, cohort study. Setting: Vall d'Hebron University Hospital. Subjects: 122 women, in two groups: Study group: 54 women with RM/UFL and control group: 68 pregnant without RM/UFL. Intervention: Antiphospholipid, mainly anti-ANXA5 antibody analysis. Comparison of all antiphospholipid antibodies between groups. Results: Antiphospholipid antibody (aPL) prevalence in the study group was 10/54 (14.8%) and 5/68 (7.3%) in control group (p=0.09). In the RM subgroup, it was 3/25 and 9/34 in UFL versus 5/68 in controls (p=0.013). Lupus anticoagulant (LA) was present in 4 cases, all belonging to the study group (p=0.011). Four out of 34 women with UFL were positive for anticardiolipin antibodies-IgG (IgG-aCL) versus 1/68 in controls (p=0.041). In RM subgroup, anti-ANXA5 antibodies were positive in 2/25 versus 3/68 in controls, and in UFL subgroup, 3/34 versus 3/68 cases (p=1.000). Conclusion: According to our results, anti-ANXA5 antibodies should not be considered as a risk factor for RM/UFL. (c) 2009 Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.