For those going through assisted fertility treatment (IUI’s or IVF):acupuncture can

Listed below are summaries of some of the latest research on acupuncture and male and female infertility.

ACUPUNCTURE AND FERTILITY RESEARCH

Acupuncture Treatment Results in Higher Pregnancy Rates for Embryo Transfer. Breaking news:

The May 2006 issue of the medical journal: Fertility and Sterility presents several new studies that confirm the efficacy of acupuncture as an aid to IVF. Here are the study results:>

Study #1:

Acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer (ET) significantly improves the reproductive outcome in infertile women: a prospective, randomized trial

In this study, Westergaard LG, et.al., set out to evaluate how the use of acupuncture effected pregnancy rates in patients treated with IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). 273 patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups: One group had acupuncture on the day of the transfer, a second group had acupuncture on the day of the transfer and then again 2 days after the transfer, and a third control group did not receive acupuncture.

The results clearly showed that the first acupuncture group that received treatment the day of the transfer had a statistically significant higher rate of pregnancy than the control group (37 of 95 [39%] vs. 21 of 87 [26%]). Comparison of ongoing pregnancy rates also favored the acupuncture group (34 of 95 [36%] vs. 19 of 87 [22%]). There was no improvement on the reproductive outcome by adding an acupuncture treatment 2 days after ET.

Fertility and Sterility Volume 85, Issue 5 , May 2006, Pages 1341-1346

Study #2:

Effect of acupuncture on the outcome of in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection: a randomized, prospective, controlled clinical study

In this study, a joint collaboration between researchers in Germany and China, Stefan Dieterle M.D and his colleagues set out to determine the effect of luteal phase acupuncture on the outcome of IVF/ICSI.225 IVF/ICSI infertile patients were randomly assigned to 2 groups. One group received Traditional Chinese acupuncture and the other half received sham acupuncture.

As in the previous study, in the group that received true acupuncture, the clinical pregnancy rate and ongoing pregnancy rates (33.6% and 28.4%, respectively) were significantly higher than in sham acupuncture group (15.6% and 13.8%).

Fertility and Sterility Volume 85, Issue 5 , May 2006, Pages 1347-1351

Study #3:

Influence of acupuncture stimulation on pregnancy rates for women undergoing embryo transfer

This study from Australia, lead by Caroline Smith Ph.D., examined 228 women and again compared a true acupuncture to a placebo group. The design of this study was to treat the women three separate times: the first session on day 9 of stimulating injections, the second session before ET, and the third immediately after ET.

They reported their results as follows: The pregnancy rate was 31% in the acupuncture group and 23% in the control group. For those subjects receiving acupuncture, the odds of achieving a pregnancy were 1.5 higher than for the control group, but the difference did not reach statistical significance. The ongoing pregnancy rate at 18 weeks was higher in the treatment group (28% vs. 18%), but the difference was not statistically significant. They did conclude that acupuncture was safe for women undergoing embryo transfer.

Fertility and Sterility Volume 85, Issue 5 , May 2006, Pages 1352-1358

Previous studies:

At the October 2004 meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) another study was presented that confirms the value of acupuncture to the success of IVF treatment. The research, done at Reproductive Medicine and Fertility Centre in Colorado Springs, studied 114 women undergoing IVF. Half of the women received acupuncture and the control group did not. The acupuncture group showed improved outcome in the following ways:

1. Acupuncture group 51% pregnancy rate compared to 36% in control group

2. Acupuncture group 8% miscarriage rate compared to 20% in control group

3.Acupuncture also was found to reduce the risk of tubal pregnancy and increase the live birth rate. The live birth rate for each IVF cycle was 23 % higher than the cycles for the control group.

OTHER FERTILITY ACUPUNCTURE RESEARCH

Ovarian blood flow responses to electro-acupuncture stimulation at different frequencies and intensities in anaesthetized rats: Stener-Victorin et.al. Auton Neurosci. 2003 Oct 31;108(1-2):50-6.

This study demonstrated that acupuncture can significantly increase or decrease ovarian blood flow, depending on how the protocol is applied.

Auricular acupuncture in the treatment of female infertility: Gerhard et.al. Gynecol Endocrinol 1992 Sep;6(3):171-81

This study compared acupuncture to standard hormone therapy in the treatment of infertility. For women with menstrual irregularities (a subgroup of the patients in the study), acupuncture increased pregnancies by 28% over hormone therapy. There were no side effects in the acupuncture group but there were in the hormone group. Taking all women in the study into account, combined acupuncture and hormone therapy achieved the best results, producing 10% more pregnancies than hormone therapy alone.

Reduction of blood flow impedance in the uterine arteries of infertile women with electro-acupuncture:Stener-Victorin et.al. Hum Reprod. 1996 Jun;11(6):1314-17

Successful in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer require optimal endometrial receptivity at the time of implantation. This study showed that an eight treatment protocol was able to significantly increase blood flow to the uterus and may explain one mechanism for the substantial increases in pregnancies when acupuncture is properly incorporated into an IVF cycle.

Clinical studies on the mechanism for acupuncture stimulation of ovulation: Mo et.al. J Tradit Chin Med 1993 Jun;13(2):115-19

This study examined the effects of acupuncture on stimulating ovulation and regulating ovulatory problems. The researchers concluded that acupuncture seems to increase progesterone levels and regulate FSH, LH and E2 levels. This study involved 30 acupuncture treatments and had an 82% effective rate.

The pain-relieving effect of electro-acupuncture and conventional medical analgesic methods during oocyte retrieval: a systematic review of randomized controlled trial. Stener-Victorin E. Hum Reprod. 2004 Nov 11

This review demonstrated that acupuncture analgesic effects are equal to conventional analgesic medication for oocyte retrieval. This is an important alternative for patients who are allergic or sensitive to analgesic medications.

Effect of electro-acupuncture on ovarian expression of alpha (1)- and beta (2)-adrenoceptors, and p75 neurotrophin receptors in rats with steroid-induced polycystic ovaries. Stener-Victorin E. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2005 Jun 7;3(1):21.

This study showed that acupuncture induced a more normalized response to estradiol in PCO rats.

Acupuncture for treatment of climacteric syndrome--a report of 35 cases.Shen X. et. al. J Tradit Chin Med. 2005 Mar;25(1):3-6.

In this study acupuncture was found to elevate abnormally low estradiol levels and to lower abnormally elevated FSH and LH levels due to climacteric syndrome.

Controlled study on acupuncture for treatment of endocrine dysfunctional infertility Yang JR, et. al. Zhongguo Zhen Jiu 2005 May;25(5):299-300

In this study, acupuncture was compared to Clomid administration in the treatment of endocrine dysfunction infertility. The study found acupuncture to have significantly higher pregnancy rates than Clomid administration (65% versus 45%). The study concluded that acupuncture is an effective treatment for infertility secondary to endocrine dysfunction.

MALE FERTILITY RESEARCH

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

This study demonstrated that acupuncture can increase both sperm quality and quantity

Effects of acupuncture and moxa treatment in patients with semen abnormalities. Gurfinkel et.al. Asian J Androl. 2003 Dec;5(4):345-8

This study showed that men receiving acupuncture had significant increases in the percentage of normal-form sperm relative to controls.

Quantitative evaluation of spermatozoa ultrastructure after acupuncture treatment for idiopathic male infertility. Pei J. et. al. Fertil Steril. 2005 Jul;84(1):141-7.

Another study demonstrating improvements in sperm quality after the administration of acupuncture.