[Immunotherapy for the prevention of abortion]

It is now commonly assumed that a normal, successful pregnancy requires the specific recognition of the trophoblast by the immune system of the mother, resulting in production of protective or blocking factors (BF). In habitually aborting women, this recognition and/or BF production does not seem to occur. Immunisation of patients with leukocytes from the partner or from donors is postulated to induce these BF and to prevent fetal loss. After the exclusion of nonimmunological causes, 31 patients with at least three previous abortions and no pregnancies lasting longer than 16 weeks, were immunised with leukocytes from their partners. Eight women were already pregnant when treated, 15 became subsequently pregnant. Seventeen (= 74%) had uncomplicated pregnancies, six suffered again from early pregnancy loss. All 15 children, born so far had average birth weights and developed normally. The EAI-test (Power 1983) was of prognostic value: an increase of more than 50% in rosette inhibition activity in the serum of treated patients, correlated well with the successful outcome of their pregnancies; whereby the lack of this increase was associated with another early pregnancy loss. We could not confirm the reported of higher HLA-identity of couples with habitually aborting women, compared to fertile couples. HLA-typing (A, B, C, DR, and DQ) showed a higher proportion of identical allo-types in a group of 33 fertile couples than in a group of 44 couples with habitual abortions. This finding was significant (p less than 0.05).