Abnormally Elevated Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) Level in an Infertile Woman
Aurore Catteau1, Kalyane Bach-Ngohou1,2, Justine Blin1,2
1Laboratoire de biochimie, Institut de Biologie, CHU de Nantes, Nantes, France.
Abstract:
We report a case of 33-year-old woman with a 4-year primary infertility. A high isolated follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) level was conflicting with the clinical situation and with other hormonal markers which were in favor of polycystic ovarian syndrome. We followed a strategy used to identify immune complexes involving FSH. The PEG precipitation test revealed that the high FSH level was almost exclusively due to the presence of autoimmune FSH immunoglobulin complex (macro-FSH). The profile obtained by gel filtration chromatography confirmed the presence of an FSH-immunoglobulin complex. Such immunological dysregulation could be explored in cases of unexplained infertility and recurrent IVF failure.
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