Antisperm Antibodies Test
Antisperm antibodies are one of the immune factors that can be involved in causing infertility as they impair the functioning of healthy sperm. Antisperm antibodies are those cells that put up a fight against healthy and normal sperm. The antibodies have a tendency to fix themselves to the sperm which reduces its motility and thus makes it more difficult for the sperm to make its way through the cervical mucus. For those people who have Antisperm antibodies present, their immune systems tend to fight against their sperm and destroy them, as the Antisperm antibodies do not view their sperm as the natural cells. This then leads to the prevention of any viable sperm. There has been some evidence that shows that antibodies fighting against the sperm can actually result in infertility among males as the antibodies force the sperm to group together and thus prevent fertilization of the egg.
Causes for Antisperm Antibodies
The cause of development of Antisperm antibodies in some people is not known entirely. Normally what tends to happen is that sperm is mostly protected from a person’s immune system by the blood-testes barrier which is protective lining. This barrier leads to the prevention of cells in a person’s immune system from mixing with the sperm and thus killing them. There are times when surgery or even injury can lead to interference with the blood-testes barrier which then allows the immune cells to reach the sperm cells. Almost ten percent of infertile men have the antibodies present in their blood stream whereas only one percent of fertile men have the antibodies. Men who have undergone reproductive surgery appear to have these antibodies. Also, approximately 70-75 percent men who have undergone a vasectomy also have Antisperm antibodies. Furthermore, men who have undergone testicular cancer, testicular biopsy, vasectomy reversal, undescended testicles, varicocele which is linked to hestasis to testes, testicular torsion and other infections are at a greater risk of developing Antisperm antibodies. At times even women can develop these antibodies. Approximately 5-6 percent of women with unexplained fertility problems possess these antibodies. Hence, once again, in these cases sperm is killed before it can reach the egg to fertilize it. Thus, the woman is unable to get pregnant.
Some of the tests conducted to detect the presence of these antibodies in a person’s body are blood tests, post-coital tests and sperm tests. Blood tests are mostly used in the case of women. Treatments for couples who are struggling to conceive with this problem include corticosteroids, Intrauterine Insemination and In-Vitro Fertilization.