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Oral Contraception, Circulating Immune Complexes, Antiethinylestradiol Antibodies, and Thrombosis *
Author(s) -
BEAUMONT VIOLETTE,
LEMORT NICOLE,
BEAUMONT JEANLOUIS
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
american journal of reproductive immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1600-0897
pISSN - 0271-7352
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0897.1982.tb00077.x
Subject(s) - ethinylestradiol , medicine , antibody , radioimmunoassay , immune system , antigen , endocrinology , thrombosis , complication , immunology , population , research methodology , environmental health
Circulating immune complexes were detected in women on oral contraceptives (OC) by a simple antigen nonspecific method using precipitation of serum in 25% saturated ammonium sulfate (CIC‐AS). A significant correlation was found between the presence of CIC‐AS and the OC vascular risk. A radioimmunoassay with tritiated ethinylestradiol indicated that CIC‐AS contained antiethinylestradiol antibodies (anti‐EE Ab) in a number of OC users, but indicated also that 1) anti‐EE Ab may be found in cases with no detectable CIC‐AS, 2) CIC‐AS containing no anti‐EE Ab are found in nonusers, and 3) even in OC users the CIC‐AS may contain antibodies to other ligands than EE. The study demonstrated also that, in OC users with a vascular complication, anti‐EE Ab were more frequently detected (78% of cases) than CIC‐AS (60%). Moreover, among OC users with CIC‐AS, anti‐EE Ab were found in 95% of women with a vascular complication and only 37% of current healthy users. The detection of anti‐EE Ab appears to be more predictive, with regard to the vascular risk of OC, than the detection of CIC‐AS.