5th International Conference on Sex Hormones, Pregnancy and Rheumatic Disease

Abstract

This conference focused on pregnancy in rheumatic diseases. In antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), thrombotic phenomena, complement system and direct binding of antiphospholipid (aPL) antibodies to the trophoblast can explain the wide obstetrical manifestations. A significant rate of prematurity and intrauterine growth restriction is observed in APS pregnancies. Concerning infant health, shortand longterm outcome for babies born to patients with APS was reported; the pathogenesis of congenital heart block and its management in the first years of a child’s life was extensively discussed. Moreover, a specific session analyzed the outcome of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), demonstrating frequent clinical relapse during pregnancy. By contrast, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) usually improves, mainly owing to a dramatic change in the cytokines’ profile. Finally, based on experts’ opinions, recommendations for treatment with new antirheumatic drugs in pregnancy were proposed. The conference, held in Florence April 20–21, 2007, attracted over 500 attendees from 53 different countries. It was co-chaired by Maurizio Cutolo, Marco Matucci Cerinic, Angela Tincani and Pierluigi Meroni. The major topics aimed to analyze the pathogenesis of fetal damage and pregnancy complications in APS, immune modulation of RA during pregnancy, pregnancy outcome in different autoimmune diseases (i.e., SLE and systemic sclerosis [SSc]), the health status of children born to mothers with aPL antibodies or anti-Ro/SSA antibodies and, finally, some recommendations regarding drug treatment during pregnancy in patients affected by rheumatic diseases.