[Anti-sperm antibodies in women and men in infertile marriages]

The authors examined the serum of 76 women and 33 men from infertile marriages for the presence of antispermatozoal antibodies. Seropositivity was revealed in 19 women (25%) and in 12 men (36%). In control groups of healthy men and women seropositivity was substantially less frequent. In women the difference was statistically significant, but not in men. The ELISA method which was applied for examination appears to be a useful tool for screening of immunological factors of infertility, in particular in couples who where infertile for prolonged periods and where no unequivocal cause of infertility was found. Only more detailed comprehensive examination can explain immunologically conditioned cases of infertility and lead to selection of an optimal therapeutic strategy.