Fertility Research Related Articles
There is extensive evidence, both scientific and anecdotal, that correcting your body's imbalances using the natural principles of Eastern medicine can increase your fertility.
An increasingly extensive collection of studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals evaluate the impact of acupuncture and Chinese herbs on natural fertility and procedures using assisted reproductive technologies.
Acupuncture and moxa treatment rectifies semen abnormalities
The Chinese Traditional Medicine acupuncture and moxa techniques significantly increase the percentage of normal-form sperm in infertile patients with oligoastenoteratozoospermia without apparent cause.
Acupuncture can stimulate ovulation without risk
Human menopausal gonadotropin (HMG) and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) are often used in the artificial induction of ovulation. With these two hormones, the ovulatory rate was about 70%-90%, but the incidence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) might be 10%-15.4% and even life-threatening in severe cases. At present, there are no satisfactory measures for the prevention and remission of OHSS It is considered that when OHSS occurs, stopping injection of HCG is the effective way to avoid severe OHSS. However, stopping HCG not only discontinues the ovulation, but also causes the loss of the already developed follicles. Our clinical practice demonstrated that acupuncture is effective in ovulation induction (without hormone injections) and also the remission of OHSS induced by injected HMG
Acupuncture enhances follicle development during in vitro fertilization with intracytoplasmic sperm injection
Scant published information concerning the combination of acupuncture with allopathic infertility technology exists. This study shows that acupuncture, in conjunction with modern medicine, can be a successful combination in IVF.
Acupuncture for idiopathic male infertility can increase fertilization rates in assisted reproductive technology
Idiopathic male infertility treated with acupuncture can improve quick sperm motility, increase normal sperm ratio, and increase fertilization rates in assisted reproductive technology.
Acupuncture improves IVF outcomes, but is not shown to change hormone production
The present data corroborate previous studies demonstrating a significant beneficial effect of acupuncture in IVF. A final proof of this effect, however, requires larger, prospective, placebo-controlled trials.
Acupuncture Improves pregnancy rates in IVF treatments
This study confirms that acupuncture administered on the day of ET significantly improves the reproductive outcome of IVF/ICSI
Acupuncture in IVF Linked to Lower Miscarriage and Ectopic Rates
Abstract PHILADELPHIA — Women who receive acupuncture during the stimulation phase of an in vitro fertilization cycle and again immediately after embryo transfer have a higher live birth rate than do controls, according to the first acupuncture study with this
Acupuncture increases pregnancy rate in assisted reproductive therapy
Acupuncture increased the rate of pregnancy with assisted reproductive therapy. Clinical pregnancies were documented in 34 of 80 patients (42.5%) in the acupuncture group, whereas pregnancy rate was only 26.3% (21 out of 80 patients) in the control group.
Acupuncture increases pregnancy rates with ART
The study determined that acupuncture seems to be a powerful tool to improve pregnancy rate in assisted reproduction therapy (ART).
Acupuncture is safe for women undergoing embryo transfer
The study suggests there might be a smaller treatment effect and that acupuncture might have a promising role as an adjunctive therapy in reproductive medicine at the time of ET. Our results suggest that acupuncture was safe for women undergoing ET. For those subjects receiving acupuncture, the odds of achieving a pregnancy was 1.5 higher than the control group but again did not reach statistical significance.
Acupuncture pre and post embryo transfer compared
In patients electing acupuncture pre and post embryo transfer, similar ongoing pregnancy and implantation rates resulted for all age categories compared to patients not electing acupuncture. By eliminating the effect of age on oocyte quantity/quality and evaluating specifically the effect of acupuncture in recipients of donor oocytes, similar ongoing clinical pregnancy and implantation rates resulted when compared with recipients not electing acupuncture. Acupuncture as an adjunct to ART treatment does not appear to improve outcomes in this retrospective analysis, however findings from this study are limited by lack of treatment randomization.
Acupuncture shown to improve healthy birth rates
The intention of this study was to determine whether electro stimulation acupuncture combined with auricular acupuncture on IVF outcomes in good prognosis patients. Acupuncture significantly increased birth outcomes; it significantly decreased ectopic pregnancies and miscarriage rates.
Acupuncture with IVF linked to few miscarriages and stress relief
There were fewer first trimester miscarriages in the acupuncture group. This could be secondary to stress relief caused by the treatment as most patients expressed a sense of well-being and relaxation. It could also be related to improved uterine blood flow as previously reported.
Acupuncture works in conjunction with modern medicine
There is sufficient evidence to acupuncture's value to expand its use into conventional medicine and treatment of female infertility, and to encourage further studies of its underlying mechanisms as well as to establish its clinical value.
Chinese herbs improve pregnancy rates in women with unexplained infertility
Fifty women with the Western medical diagnosis of unexplained infertility were treated with Chinese herbal medicine. On their previous menstral cycle, no pregnancies occured. Following herbal treatment, 28 of the 50 women became pregnant with 11 live births and 7 miscarriages. Chinese herbal medicine results in higher success rates of pregnancy, with no patient side-effects and a reduction in the category of patients conventionally classified as having unexplained infertility.
Conception and Implanatation rates increase with acupuncture in IVF
Conception and implantation rates were highest with traditional needle acupuncture. IVF treatment outcomes did not differ between patients treated with laser or sham laser acupuncture. needle acupuncture produced a clinically significant effect (greater than 10% increase in clinical pregnancy rate) compared with relaxation or no treatment which warrants further investigation.
Does Acupuncture Inhibit Uterine Motility?
Conception and implantation rates were highest with traditional needle acupuncture. IVF treatment outcomes did not differ between patients treated with laser or sham laser acupuncture. needle acupuncture produced a clinically significant effect (greater than 10% increase in clinical pregnancy rate) compared with relaxation or no treatment which warrants further investigation.
Does method of acupuncture used impact outcome?
Differences were noted in patient PRL levels as a result of Ac; lower in the stimulation phase and trending higher towards the luteal phase . It appears that one potential, western medicine, view of the improvement in IVF outcomes in patients treated with Ac may be a lowering of the PRL levels before retrieval and elevation of these levels in the luteal phase.
Electro-acupuncture reduces high uterine artery blood flow impedance
Electro acupuncture can reduce high uterine artery blood flow impedance, thereby creating more favorable conditions for IVF implantation success.
Hand surface temperature (HST) may predict efficacy of acupunture for ovulation induction
This study suggests that measuring hand surface temperature (HST) may provide a rough but simple method for predicting the effect of electro-acupuncture (EA) on ovulation induction. The relationship of ovulation and HST in normal women is different from that in anovulatory patients. Thus, in anovulatory cases, the hyperactive sympathetic system can be depressed by EA and the function of the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis can be regulated by EA via central sympathetic system. This might be another possible mechanism of EA ovulation induction. Another mechanism might be that EA may promote the release of ß-E in the brain and reduce LH-RH secretion from hypothalamus. Therefore, the blood LH content released from the pituitary is decreased, leading to ovulation.
How Acupuncture Improves Sperm Production
In conjunction with ART or even for reaching natural fertility potential, acupuncture treatment is a simple, noninvasive method that can improve sperm quality. Further research is needed to demonstrate what stages and times in spermatogenesis are affected by acupuncture, and how acupuncture causes the physiologic changes in spermatogenesis. Our future aim is strengthen our findings by enlarging the study group for more investigations.
How TCM influences the results of IVF
Since Paulus et al (Fertil.Steril.2002) found in a prospective randomized study a significant improvement of the pregnancy rate in IVF when it is combined with acupuncture we were interested in the possible origin of this improvement.
IVF with acupuncture shows higher pregnancy rates
Preliminary data shows a statistically significant improvement in the biochemical pregnancy rate with acupuncture treatment. Additionally, acupuncture was associated with a strong trend towards higher clinical pregnancy rates and take home baby rates,
L-arginine supplementation during ovarian hyperstimulation cycles not likely to aid embyro quality and pregnancy rate
L-Arginine supplementation may be detrimental to embryo quality and pregnancy rate during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation cycles.
Lower Gonadotropins used when IVF combined with Acupuncture
The purpose of this study was to determine if there are benefits of standard acupuncture compared to sham acupuncture as an adjunct to IVF. Our study shows a significantly lower amount of gonadotropins used when IVF is combined with standard acupuncture. A 70% pregnancy rate was also achieved with standard acupuncture and IVF, compared to 25%. Larger prospective trials are necessary.
Specific methodology of acupuncture used not shown to improve pregnancy rate
There have been some studies suggesting that acupuncture performed on the day of embryo transfer (ET) may increase the pregnancy rate (PR) following ET. This study did not show an increase in positive outcome by starting acupuncture on day 5 and twice a week until two weeks after egg retrieval.