Fertility Studies
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Acupuncture Today |
Acupuncture May Improve Success Rate of Test-Tube Pregnancies
http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/archives2002/jul/07ivf.html
Fertil Steril. 2002 Apr;77(4):721-4.
Influence of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy.
Paulus WE, Zhang M, Strehler E, El-Danasouri I, Sterzik K.
Department of Reproductive Medicine, Christian-Lauritzen-Institut, Ulm, Germany. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Comment in:
Fertil Steril. 2002 Oct;78(4):891; author reply 892.
Fertil Steril. 2006 May;85(5):1359-61; discussion 1368-70.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in assisted reproduction therapy (ART) by comparing a group of patients receiving acupuncture treatment shortly before and after embryo transfer with a control group receiving no acupuncture. DESIGN: Prospective randomized study. SETTING: Fertility center. PATIENT(S): After giving informed consent, 160 patients who were undergoing ART and who had good quality embryos were divided into the following two groups through random selection: embryo transfer with acupuncture (n = 80) and embryo transfer without acupuncture (n = 80). INTERVENTION(S): Acupuncture was performed in 80 patients 25 minutes before and after embryo transfer. In the control group, embryos were transferred without any supportive therapy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Clinical pregnancy was defined as the presence of a fetal sac during an ultrasound examination 6 weeks after embryo transfer. RESULT(S): 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. CONCLUSION(S): Acupuncture seems to be a useful tool for improving pregnancy rate after ART.
Fertil Steril. 2006 May;85(5):1341-6. Epub 2006 Apr 5.
Acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer significantly improves the reproductive outcome in infertile women: a prospective, randomized trial.
Westergaard LG, Mao Q, Krogslund M, Sandrini S, Lenz S, Grinsted J.
Fertility Clinic Trianglen, Hellerup, Denmark. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Comment in:
Fertil Steril. 2006 May;85(5):1362-3; discussion 1368-70.
Fertil Steril. 2006 May;85(5):1364-7; discussion 1368-70.
Fertil Steril. 2007 Apr;87(4):1000.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of acupuncture on reproductive outcome in patients treated with IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). One group of patients received acupuncture on the day of ET, another group on ET day and again 2 days later (i.e., closer to implantation day), and both groups were compared with a control group that did not receive acupuncture. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized trial. SETTING: Private fertility center. PATIENT(S): During the study period all patients receiving IVF or ICSI treatment were offered participation in the study. On the day of oocyte retrieval, patients were randomly allocated (with sealed envelopes) to receive acupuncture on the day of ET (ACU 1 group, n = 95), on that day and again 2 days later (ACU 2 group, n = 91), or no acupuncture (control group, n = 87). INTERVENTION(S): Acupuncture was performed immediately before and after ET (ACU 1 and 2 groups), with each session lasting 25 minutes; and one 25-minute session was performed 2 days later in the ACU 2 group. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Clinical pregnancy and ongoing pregnancy rates in the three groups. RESULT(S): Clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates were significantly higher in the ACU 1 group as compared with controls (37 of 95 [39%] vs. 21 of 87 [26%] and 34 of 95 [36%] vs. 19 of 87 [22%]). The clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates in the ACU 2 group (36% and 26%) were higher than in controls, but the difference did not reach statistical difference. CONCLUSION(S): Acupuncture on the day of ET significantly improves the reproductive outcome of IVF/ICSI, compared with no acupuncture. Repeating acupuncture on ET day +2 provided no additional beneficial effect.
PMID: 16600232 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
BMJ. 2008 Mar 8;336(7643):545-9. Epub 2008 Feb 7.
Effects of acupuncture on rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing in vitro fertilisation: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Manheimer E, Zhang G, Udoff L, Haramati A, Langenberg P, Berman BM, Bouter LM.
Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 2200 Kernan Drive, Kernan Hospital Mansion, Baltimore, MD 21207, USA. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Comment in:
BMJ. 2008 Mar 8;336(7643):517-8.
BMJ. 2008 Mar 8;336(7643):549.
Forsch Komplementmed. 2008 Aug;15(4):228-9.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether acupuncture improves rates of pregnancy and live birth when used as an adjuvant treatment to embryo transfer in women undergoing in vitro fertilisation. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: Medline, Cochrane Central, Embase, Chinese Biomedical Database, hand searched abstracts, and reference lists. Review methods Eligible studies were randomised controlled trials that compared needle acupuncture administered within one day of embryo transfer with sham acupuncture or no adjuvant treatment, with reported outcomes of at least one of clinical pregnancy, ongoing pregnancy, or live birth. Two reviewers independently agreed on eligibility; assessed methodological quality; and extracted outcome data. For all trials, investigators contributed additional data not included in the original publication (such as live births). Meta-analyses included all randomised patients. DATA SYNTHESIS: Seven trials with 1366 women undergoing in vitro fertilisation were included in the meta-analyses. There was little clinical heterogeneity. Trials with sham acupuncture and no adjuvant treatment as controls were pooled for the primary analysis. Complementing the embryo transfer process with acupuncture was associated with significant and clinically relevant improvements in clinical pregnancy (odds ratio 1.65, 95% confidence interval 1.27 to 2.14; number needed to treat (NNT) 10 (7 to 17); seven trials), ongoing pregnancy (1.87, 1.40 to 2.49; NNT 9 (6 to 15); five trials), and live birth (1.91, 1.39 to 2.64; NNT 9 (6 to 17); four trials). Because we were unable to obtain outcome data on live births for three of the included trials, the pooled odds ratio for clinical pregnancy more accurately represents the true combined effect from these trials rather than the odds ratio for live birth. The results were robust to sensitivity analyses on study validity variables. A prespecified subgroup analysis restricted to the three trials with the higher rates of clinical pregnancy in the control group, however, suggested a smaller non-significant benefit of acupuncture (odds ratio 1.24, 0.86 to 1.77). CONCLUSIONS: Current preliminary evidence suggests that acupuncture given with embryo transfer improves rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing in vitro fertilisation.
PMID: 18258932 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2009 Oct;29(10):775-9.
[Effects of electroacupuncture on in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) of patients with poor ovarian response]
[Article in Chinese]
Department of Reproduction, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of TCM, Jinan 250001, China. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture therapy on oocyte quality and pregnancy outcome of patients with poor ovarian response or decreased reserve in the course of in vitro fertilization (IVF). METHODS: Sixty cases accepting IVF-ET were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each group. The two groups were both treated with antagonist scheme for ovulation induction, and the electroacupuncture intervention was also added in the observation group, Guanyuan (CV 4), Taixi (KI 3), Sanyinjiao (SP 6) etc. were selected. The therapeutic effects in the two groups were compared after treatment. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the two groups before treatment. The symptoms of kidney difficiency in the observation group were significantly improved after treatment, and the levels of serum estradiol (E2), fertilization rate, oocyte maturation rate, good quality embryos rate, and implantation rate in the observation group were superior to those in the control group on human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) injection day (all P<0.05); the levels of stem cell factor (SCF) in follicular fluid and serum in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (both P<0.05). The pregnancy rate in the observation group was higher than that in the control group, and the abortion rate in the observation group was lower than that in the control group, but there was no significant difference between the two groups (both P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Electroacupuncture therapy has a good clinical effect for IVF patients with poor ovarian reserve, and can improve oocyte quality and pregnancy outcome.
Effect of acupuncture on sperm parameters of males suffering from subfertility related to low sperm quality: Siterman et.al. Arch Androl, 39(2):155-61 1997 Sep-Oct
In this study both sperm quality and quantity were increased by acupuncture.
Effects of acupuncture and moxa treatment in patients with semen abnormalities. Gurfinkel et.al. Asian J Androl. 2003 Dec;5(4):345-8
In this study men receiving acupuncture had significant increases in the percentage of normal-form sperm compared to the control group that did not receive acupuncture.
Acupuncture & IVF Poor Responders: A Cure? P.C. Magarelli,D.K. Cridennda. Reproductive Medicine & Fertility Center, Colorado Springs, CO
Conclusions: Significant increases in pregnancy outcomes were con- firmed by this study and the data uniquely supported the advantage of acupuncture in patients with normal PI. Finally, this study is the first to demonstrate that the use of acupuncture in patients with poor prognoses (elevated Peak FSH, longer history of infertility, poor sperm morphology) can achieve similar pregnancy rates to normal prognosis patient.
PMID: 19873910 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Fertil Steril. 2009 Oct;92(4):1340-3. Epub 2009 Apr 25.
A prospective randomized placebo-controlled study of the effect of acupuncture in infertile patients with severe oligoasthenozoospermia.
Dieterle S, Li C, Greb R, Bartzsch F, Hatzmann W, Huang D.
Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Witten/Herdecke, Dortmund, Germany. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
In this first prospective, randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled study, 28 infertile patients with severe oligoasthenozoospermia received acupuncture according to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and 29 infertile patients received placebo acupuncture. A significantly higher percentage of motile sperm (World Health Organization categories A-C), but no effect on sperm concentration, was found after acupuncture compared with placebo acupuncture.
PMID: 19394002 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Fertil Steril. 2006 May;85(5):1347-51. Epub 2006 Apr 17.
Effect of acupuncture on the outcome of in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection: a randomized, prospective, controlled clinical study.
Dieterle S, Ying G, Hatzmann W, Neuer A.
Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Witten/Herdecke, Dortmund, Germany. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Comment in:
Fertil Steril. 2006 May;85(5):1359-61; discussion 1368-70.
Fertil Steril. 2006 May;85(5):1362-3; discussion 1368-70.
Fertil Steril. 2006 May;85(5):1364-7; discussion 1368-70.
Fertil Steril. 2007 Apr;87(4):1000.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of luteal-phase acupuncture on the outcome of IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). DESIGN: Randomized, prospective, controlled clinical study. SETTING: University IVF center. PATIENT(S): Two hundred twenty-five infertile patients undergoing IVF/ICSI. INTERVENTION(S): In group I, 116 patients received luteal-phase acupuncture according to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine. In group II, 109 patients received placebo acupuncture. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates. RESULT(S): In group I, the clinical pregnancy rate and ongoing pregnancy rate (33.6% and 28.4%, respectively) were significantly higher than in group II (15.6% and 13.8%). CONCLUSION(S): Luteal-phase acupuncture has a positive effect on the outcome of IVF/ICSI.
PMID: 16616748 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2009 Jan;29(1):21-4.
[Clinical observation on acupuncture combined with medication for treatment of continuing unovulation infertility]
[Article in Chinese]
Department of TCM, Hubei College of TCM, Wuhan 430061, China. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
OBJECTIVE: To explore the therapeutic effect of acupuncture combined with medication on continuing unovulation infertility. METHODS: Fifty cases of continuing unovulation infertility were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 25 cases in each group. The observation group was treated with Chinese herbal decoction plus acupuncture. Culuanpao decoction, Cupailuan decoction and Cuhuangti decoction were respectively given according to different menstrual cycles and acupuncture and moxibustion at Guanyuan (CV 4), Zhongji (CV 3), Luanchao (ovary), etc. The control group was treated with oral administration of Clomiphene and intramuscular injection of Chorionic Gonadotropin. They were treated for 6 cycles and the ovulation rate and the pregnancy rate were observed. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the ovulation rate between the two groups (P > 0.05). The pregnancy rate of 44.0% in the observation group was significantly higher than 16.0% in the control group (P < 0.05). The observation group was superior to the control group in the score of mucus and the endometrial thickness. CONCLUSION: Both acupuncture combined with medication and oral administration of clomiphene plus intramuscular injection of chorionic gonadotropin have higher ovulation rate, and the former was higher than the latter in the pregnancy rate.
PMID: 19186717 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
