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...
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...
Causes & Risks for Endometriosis Despite an enormous amount of research into the cause of endometriosis, there’s no definite explanation for how it develops! The five theories currently in circulation are: 1. “Retrograde menstruation theory.” This menstrual theory has been around for over 100 years. It suggests that when ...
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...
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...
Many drugs have a powerful impact on male fertility, and semen testing makes it relatively easy to measure this. Drugs have an abnormally significant effect on sperm because they’re by far the smallest cells we have, and their DNA is on single (rather than double) helix strands. The way they’re made in the testicles is also very un...
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...
The thyroid gland in the neck makes hormones that set the body’s metabolic rate, which governs how energy is produced or stored and how waste products are removed. Thyroid hormone levels affect the behaviour of all cells and organs in the body, including the ovaries and testes. Thyroid disorders can be a crucial issue for couples who have diff...
Luteinised Unruptured Follicle Syndrome (LUFS) is a subtle variation of regular cycles that effectively prevents pregnancy. The condition isn’t that well known, partly because nearly everything in menstrual cycles works as it should: The dominant follicle develops as normal There’s a normal luteinising hormone (LH) “surge...
Low hormone levels prevent regular ovulation for many women and is a condition termed “hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism”, which means “low sex hormone levels causing sex organs to under-function. The menstrual cycle relies on the release of hormones from three glands to function, and a lack of hormones from any of them reduces ...
