Autoimmunity in Reproduction

Kathleen M. Hoeger, MD, MPH

Terhi T. Piltonen, MD, PhD

The current issue of Seminars in Reproductive Medicine is guest-edited by Dr. Erin Masaba. Dr. Masaba is an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. She is also the medical director of the IVF program at Strong Fertility Center. Dr. Masaba has a long-standing interest in recurrent pregnancy loss and autoimmune diseases impacting reproduction. She is an invited member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine Task Force on Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and participated in the development of national guidelines for the treatment and management of recurrent pregnancy loss. Additionally, she was involved in the development of the ASRM Practice Committee document on this topic. She is the current Chair of the Early Pregnancy Special Interest Group for the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. She has presented nationally on the role of endometritis in recurrent pregnancy loss and thyroid disease in pregnancy loss.

Dr. Masaba has invited a highly respected group of clinicians and researchers in the area of autoimmune and rheumatologic diseases to review the impacts of these common and difficult diseases on reproduction and pregnancy. The interaction of immunologic changes in pregnancy with the ongoing aberrant immune response characterizing autoimmune diseases in pregnancy creates a complex challenge for those who are caring for these individuals in pregnancy. This issue reviews some of the most common disorders encountered in reproductive-aged women including the impact on fertility, use of assisted reproductive technologies, fertility preservation, and pregnancy outcomes in systemic lupus erythematosus, antiphospholipid syndrome, and autoimmune thyroid disease. Each of these diseases presents a challenge for the reproductive physician and there is still much to learn about the natural history, treatment, and pregnancy outcomes. This issue hopes to bring the reader up to date on the latest understanding of these conditions in reproduction.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
12. Dezember 2024