Implantation failure is a significant cause of infertility (and the reason given for about 70% of IVF failures) but is often overlooked as a reason for not conceiving. There are, of course, differences between IVF cycles and natural conceptions and a variety of reasons why healthy embryos don’t become babies. Implantation is a complex pr...
Natural Killer cells (NK cells) make up about 5-10% of our white blood cells (lymphocytes) and are an essential part of the immune system, keeping us healthy by removing unwanted, damaged or foreign cells. They play a crucial role in stopping infections and removing tumours and are essential for restructuring and enabling growth. NK cell numbe...
Leukocyte antibodies (LA) identify non-self leukocytes, and leukocytes are types of white blood cells that circulate in the blood, bone marrow, and lymph systems. These white blood cells are an essential part of the immune system and include the Natural Killer (NK) cells. The LA role is primarily to remove bacteria (or other foreign invaders)...
Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) are small peptide proteins on the surfaces of all cells, and their function is to identify each cell as “self” to the immune system. Foreign cells (germs, viruses or parasites) don’t carry a person’s HLA on their surfaces, and the immune system sees them as “non-self”. The imm...
Cytokines are a group of immune-modulating agents (they alter the body’s immune response) with similar actions to hormones. However, they’re not classed as hormones because they don’t come from discrete glands. A variety of cells (including white blood cells) produce cytokines, and they’re often spread around the body. ...
Anti-sperm antibodies (ASAb) are a major cause of infertility, and they’re found in 9-36% of infertile couples. They’re caused by an immune response to sperm that can affect one or both partners. i Men tend to have ASASb more than women, and it’s a lot easier for men to get checked for anti-sperm antibodies with an extension to sta...
Antiphospholipid antibodies (APA) are a significant cause of blood clotting in pregnancy, and clotting disorders are one of the leading causes of miscarriage. Pregnancy makes the blood of all women get thicker, but how much it thickens varies between women and can differ between pregnancies. If blood gets too thick, the bonds between the blood...
Antinuclear Antibodies (ANA) is an autoimmune condition with abnormally high levels of antibodies that target the genetic material in cells. These antibodies are quite normal in low concentrations, but in about 5% of the population, they’re elevated. For roughly half of these people, an autoimmune disease gets triggered, which causes the...
The symptoms, references, and risk factors for thyroid disease are shown below, but not everyone with abnormal thyroid hormones gets all of the symptoms. To add further confusion, the symptoms don’t seem to fit everyone, and 10% of people with hyperthyroidism gain rather than lose weight! Thyroid disorders are diagnosed by testing hormone leve...
Female age affects fertility, with peaks in a woman’s late teens and early 20s and doesn’t usually reduce noticeably until she reaches about 32. From this point, a woman’s fertility becomes increasingly affected by the number and quality of eggs she has remaining in her ovaries. However, it’s possible to check egg numbe...
