Influence of Acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproductive therapy.
Fertility & Sterility, Vol.77, No.4, April 2002.
This study found that in a group of 160 women – 80 who were treated with acupuncture before and after the embryo transfer phase of IVF had a 15.8% increase in success rate with implantation of the embryo. This significant effect of acupuncture was re-confirmed in 2006 as Fertility & Sterility published two similar studies that showed a 13% and 18% implantation success rate in the acupuncture groups over the control.
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Reduction of blood flow impedance in the uterine arteries of infertility women with electro-acupuncture.
Human Reproduction, Vol.11, No.6, 1996.
This study established that acupuncture with electro-stimulation could increase the blood flow to the reproductive organs, particularly useful in older women, ‘poor responders’ and women with thin endometrial lining. Treatments were given twice a week for 4 weeks leading up to an IVF cycle. Tests revealed that the uterine artery blood flow increased dramatically within this time and led to a thicker endometrial lining in the women.
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Acupuncture treatment for infertile women undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection.
Dr. Sandra L. Emmons, Dr. Phillip Patton, Medical Acupuncture, A Journal for Physicians by Physicians Spring/Summer 2000 Vol.12,No.3.
This study found that women labeled ‘poor responders’ had a significant increase in the number of follicles produced when combined with acupuncture.
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Poor Prognosis: A Cure?
Fertility & Sterility, Vol. 81, Supplement 3, April 2004.
This study combined acupuncture treatments leading up to the IVF cycle with treatments before and after the embryo transfer, specifically to women labeled ‘poor prognosis’. These women had high FSH, responded poorly to stimulation, and had low uterine blood flow. The women who received acupuncture were found to then have pregnancy rates equal to that of the good prognosis patients and then they went on to show that the acupuncture group had a higher live birth rate than the good prognosis patients.
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A Randomized Study Evaluating Acupuncture as an Adjunct to IVF.
Rodolfo Quintero, M.D., Wendy Yu, L.Ac., Brandon Horn, L.Ac., J.D., Daoshing Ni, D.O.M., Barry Schifrin, MD., Brian Acacio, M.D.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Glendale Adventist Medical Center (GAMC) and the Eastern Center for Complementary Medicine, Glendale, CA.
This study showed a significantly lower amount of gonadotropins used when IVF was combined with standard acupuncture. A 70% pregnancy rate was also achieved with standard acupuncture and IVF, compared to 25%. Larger prospective trials are necessary.
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Effect of acupuncture on sperm parameters of males suffering from subfertility related to low sperm quality.
Siterman S, Eltes F, Wolfson V, Zabludovsky N, Vartoov B. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Tel Aviv, Israel. Archives of Andrology, 1997 Sep-Oct; 39(2):155-61.
This study reported that after 5 weeks of treatment twice/week, men with considerable sperm impairment had increased their fertility significantly. Improvements were seen in total functional sperm, percentage of viability, total motile spermatozoa and integrity of the axonema. This study confirms that acupuncture can significantly improve sperm motility.
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Quantitative evaluation of spermatozoa ultrastructure after acupuncture treatment for idiopathic male infertility.
Jian Pei, Ph.D., Erwin Strehler, M.D., Ulrich Noss, M.D., Markus Abt, Ph.D., Paola Piomboni, Ph.D., Baccio Baccetti, Ph.D., and Karl Sterzik, M.D. Fertility & Sterility 2005;84:141-7.
In this study, men with unexplained infertility received acupuncture twice a week for a total of 5 weeks. A statistically significant increase in the percentage and number of sperm in the total ejaculate without ultrastructural defects was observed, in comparison with controls, with improvements in the shape of the acrosome and nucleus. Previous studies by the same group showed that acupuncture improves sperm quality, fertilization rate, and pregnancy rate in Assisted Reproductive Techniques.
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