Anti-phospholipid autoantibodies--do they have a pathogenic role in infertility?

Anti-phospholipid syndrome includes a variety of clinical manifestations, among which is recurrent pregnancy loss. Recently, it was suggested that anti-phospholipid antibodies might also have a role in infertility, mainly in unexplained infertility. Most of the studies report about an increased prevalence of these antibodies in infertile women; however, data regarding the implication of these antibodies on treatment outcome (mainly in in-vitro fertilization) and if there is a beneficial effect of treating these patients with aspirin, heparin and prednisone--remains still controversial. In this communication we review the literature reports of association of anti-phospholipid antibodies and infertility, and deal with the question whether they have a pathogenic role in these cases.