ACUPUNCTURE & INFERTILITY / IVF

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For specific information detailing some research articles on this condition and Acupuncture, please read below.

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Acupuncture and success of IVF

“Acupuncture can increase the chances of getting pregnant for women undergoing fertility treatment by 65%,” according to The Guardian’s news pages.

The Times, The Daily Telegraph and BBC News covered the story and quoted Edward Ernst, a professor of complementary medicine.

The study behind this story is a systematic review which combined the results of “high quality” studies on acupuncture, rates of pregnancy and live birth in women undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

Where did the story come from?

Dr Eric Manheimer, Grant Zhang, Laurence Udoff and colleagues from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington and the University of Amsterdam, Holland carried out the research.

Funding was provided by the National Centre for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine of the US National Institutes of Health. The study was published in the peer-reviewed: British Medical Journal.

What kind of scientific study was this?

The study was a systemic review of randomised controlled trials that compared needle acupuncture given within one day of women receiving IVF with sham (fake) treatment or no treatment at all. The researchers searched for published literature in databases and conference proceedings for studies that compared acupuncture given within one day of IVF treatment versus sham acupuncture (or no treatment). They assessed the quality of 108 potentially relevant studies they found, and of these, included seven trials in their analysis.

Only studies in which pregnancy had been confirmed (either by presence of gestational sac or heartbeat on ultrasound), ongoing pregnancy beyond 12 weeks gestation (confirmed through ultrasound), or a live birth, were included. The researchers also only included studies in which acupuncture needles were inserted into traditional meridian points (groups of points thought to have an effect upon a particular body part).

The researchers used meta-analysis (a statistical technique) to pool the studies. They were particularly interested in the difference in rates of pregnancy between women who received acupuncture and those who did not.

What were the results of the study?

The seven studies that the researchers included in their analysis were all randomised controlled trials. In six of the studies, an acupuncture session was given just before the fertilised embryo was implanted back into the mother and another straight after. One trial involved acupuncture only after implantation. Two studies gave a third session during different phases of the process.

The authors reported that IVF with acupuncture:

·        increased the odds of pregnancy by 65% (according to early evidence on ultrasound),

·        increased the odds of ongoing pregnancy by 87% (according to ultrasound evidence of pregnancy at 12 weeks)

·        increased the odds of a live birth by 91% compared with IVF on its own.

What to expect from Acupuncture for Infertility:

Acupuncture can:
1. Regulate menstrual cycles: Often infertility is associated with irregular menstrual cycles or endometriosis. With acupuncture and herbs women without regular periods can start cycling regularly again, women with heavy bleeding can normalize, and partial and complete recoveries from endometriosis.
2. Increase ovulation rates: Related to irregular menstruation, some infertility patients are not ovulating regularly. With only acupuncture and herbs, one patient has been ovulating consistently for 7 months, after more than 12 years of negative ovulation readings!
3. Increase the quantity and quality of eggs: After 2 months of acupuncture and herbs, one IVF patient produced 15 healthy eggs for extraction - nearly double her first IVF cycle, without acupuncture, when she produced 8 eggs.
Another patient, after repeated miscarriages, was told by her infertility specialist that she could not use her own eggs. In his opinion, her eggs were too poor quality; she would have to do IVF with donor eggs. After 3 months of acupuncture and herbs, she became pregnant naturally.
4. Increase the chances of implantation: Often, in IVF, the embryo transfer process stimulates uterine contractions, which can make implantation difficult. Acupuncture helps to relax the uterus, so that implantation is easier.
5. Increase the chances of a healthy, full-term pregnancy: Continued acupuncture treatment for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy is highly recommended to decrease chances of miscarriage. It’s also useful for morning sickness, fatigue, aches and mood swings.

The journey to overcome infertility is a difficult one. Give yourself every advantage. You can feel confident that acupuncture will optimize your chances of successful pregnancy.

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Study: Acupuncture Improves Fertility in Men, Too.

A recent trial published in Fertility and Sterility has shown just how effective acupuncture can be in the treatment of this condition, leading to significant increases in the number of normal sperm and equally significant reductions in structural defects.

In the study, 28 men who were diagnosed with idiopathic infertility received acupuncture twice a week over a period of 5 weeks.

Semen samples were collected from each of the men after a 3-day period of sexual abstinence. Two samples were collected from each patient: one obtained the day before treatment began, the other after the last acupuncture treatment. Samples from the treatment group were then randomized with semen samples from 12 untreated control patients and analyzed.

Compared to the control group, motility levels increased significantly in semen samples in the men receiving acupuncture. While median motility levels increased from 32% to 37% in the control group, they increased from 44.5% to 50% in the acupuncture group.

The number and percentage of healthy sperm also increased dramatically in the acupuncture patients. At baseline, only 0.06% the sperm among men in the acupuncture group was considered "healthy," while the median number of healthy sperm calculated in ejaculate was 0.04 x 10 6 (40,000). After 10 sessions of treatments, the median percentage of healthy sperm had increased more than four-fold, to 0.26%, while the median number of healthy sperm per sample had reached 0.2 x 10 6 (200,000).

In addition, significant changes in sperm structure and quality were seen in the samples from the acupuncture group. Before treatment, only 22.5% of the sperm samples in the acupuncture patients contained normal-shaped acrosomes, a cap-like structure that develops over the anterior portion of a sperm cell's nucleus. After treatment, the median percentage of normal acrosome shapes showed a "statistically significant improvement" to 38.5%.

Similarly, the percentage of sperm with a normal axoneme pattern increased significantly among men receiving acupuncture. (The axoneme is a microscopic structure that contains a series of tubules arranged in a distinct pattern, and is believed to aid in sperm motility.) Prior to the start of the study, the correct axoneme pattern was present in 52% of sperm in the control group, but only 46.1% in the acupuncture group. After 5 weeks of therapy, the median percentage increased to 52.2% in acupuncture patients, but actually decreased to 38.2% in the control group.

While acupuncture appeared able to improve the overall quality and structural integrity of sperm, it was ineffective against some common sperm pathologies. Apoptosis levels (programmed cell death) in sperm samples were reduced slightly, but not to a statistically significant degree. Median percentages of necrosis (unprogrammed cell death) and sperm immaturity also decreased slightly in the acupuncture group, but not to a level considered statistically significant.

The authors concluded that despite the inability of acupuncture to significantly reduce some sperm abnormalities, the treatment could be used to improve overall sperm quality, leading to the possibility of increased fertility.

"In conjunction with ART or even for reaching natural fertility potential, acupuncture treatment is a simple, noninvasive method that can improve sperm quality," the authors concluded. "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."

References

1.    Hopps CV, Goldstein M. Male infertility: the basics. Available online.

2.    Levine D. Boxers or briefs: myths and facts about men's infertility. Available online.

3.    Pei J, Strehler E, Noss U, et al. Quantitative evaluation of spermatozoa ultrastructure after acupuncture treatment for idiopathic male infertility. Fertility and Sterility July 2005;84(1):141-7.

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Acupuncture and IVF Study Shows Early Promise for Increased Take Home Baby Rates

Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist and Infertility Specialist Teams with Licensed Acupuncturist in Largest Ongoing Eastern/Western Pregnancy Study.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Aug 12, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Dr. Paul C. Magarelli, a nationally noted specialist in the field of reproductive endocrinology and infertility, and Dr. Diane K. Cridennda, a recognized authority on acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, have announced early results of an ongoing study linking acupuncture to positive in-vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes. The study, which includes the largest-ever participant pool for a study of its kind, explores the increase in take home baby rates associated with combined Eastern and Western medicine treatments.

Drs. Magarelli and Cridennda's ongoing research shows an astonishing 15 percent increase in pregnancies, with a 23 percent climb in actual births in IVF patients treated with acupuncture. In addition, of the 578 patients Magarelli has co-treated at the Reproductive Medicine & Fertility Centers and East Winds Acupuncture from 2003 to 2008, 26 percent more patients became pregnant with acupuncture treatments added to IVF, saving them the costs and heartache of having to repeat an IVF cycle. This savings would decrease the national IVF fertility costs by more than $150,000,000 per year in the United States alone.

"Our study demonstrates that acupuncture increases uterine blood flow, reduces stress and has an overall positive impact on our IVF patients. And the results really speak for themselves: one of every four of our patients who have used acupuncture in conjunction with IVF has not had to repeat an IVF cycle to create their families."

A three-part exploration of Drs. Magarelli and Cridennda's ongoing breakthrough acupuncture and IVF study will be published in Fertility Today magazine later this year.

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Acupuncture 'helps women have babies'

Chinese treatment raises success rate of IVF

The Observer, Sunday September 21 2008

Women undergoing fertility treatment are far more likely to successfully give birth if they also have acupuncture, a major scientific study has concluded.

The research found that women suffering with fertility problems who underwent the ancient Chinese treatment increased their chance of having a baby from one in five to one in three.

Researchers led by Ying Cheong, from the reproductive medicine unit at the University of Southampton and the city's Princess Anne Hospital, concluded that 'acupuncture around the time of embryo transfer achieves a higher live birth rate of 35 per cent compared with 22 per cent without active acupuncture'. Embryo transfer is when an embryo that has been fertilised in the laboratory is implanted into a woman's womb. The research found that the chance of the embryo implanting successfully, resulting in pregnancy, increased significantly if a woman underwent acupuncture around the same time as the transfer.

'Our research is good news because it shows that acupuncture can help with fertility in patients undergoing IVF. Whether or not acupuncture helps women achieve a live birth is a controversial issue, and opinion has been divided on it,' said Cheong. 'We show that acupuncture, performed at the right stage, can have significant benefit. A woman who does so has a much greater chance of having a live birth than a woman who doesn't have acupuncture.'

They looked at 13 studies carried out worldwide, involving more than 2,000 patients who underwent acupuncture during a course of IVF.

Their study is due to be published on the Cochrane Library's online database of systematic reviews. The library is part of the Cochrane Collaboration, an independent, international organisation whose experts' scrutiny of the effectiveness of medical procedures is respected by doctors worldwide.

Wednesday, 3 May 2006

Fertility rates during embryo transfer can be doubled with the use of acupuncture, a new study has found. The latest University of Adelaide trial contributes to a small but growing body of research that suggests acupuncture may help with improving pregnancy outcomes for people undergoing IVF treatment.

Dr Caroline Smith, who conducted the first single blind and controlled randomised acupuncture trial in the University of Adelaide fertility clinic Repromed, said: "Our study showed encouraging results with an increase in the pregnancy rate in the acupuncture group (31% versus 23% in the control group) among women having an embryo transfer."

This benefit was smaller than expected and did not differ statistically between the acupuncture and control groups. But when the study of 228 women was combined with the findings from three other acupuncture trials, involving a total of just under 800 women, the results clearly showed a pregnancy was twice as likely to occur in the acupuncture group compared to the control group.

"The good news of the acupuncture use in fertility therapy is the benefit is not affected by age, meaning all age groups showed the increase in IVF success rates from the acupuncture therapy," said Dr Smith.

Acupuncture is safe and no adverse effects were reported. Dr Smith said there were some research questions still to be answered and a larger study was required to confirm these findings and address outstanding questions.

"The important distinction between this acupuncture study and any previous studies is the very good research model used to develop the study design that addressed a major source of bias seen in previous studies known as the 'placebo effect'. We removed this source of bias by using the placebo acupuncture needle or a 'sham' needle."

Many women have turned to complementary medicine in the hope of reversing or at least ceasing their natural decline in fertility. Acupuncture therapy has shown to increase the blood circulation to the ovaries and uterus and hence increase the capacity for conception.

This indicative result is very good news for women who want to use acupuncture during embryo transfer to increase their pregnancy success rates. Dr Caroline Smith believes this warrants a further exploration of the clinical benefits the current studies present.

This research is published in Fertility and Sterility this month.

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BBC NEWS  Tuesday, 16 April, 2002, 18:28 GMT 19:28 UK

Acupuncture 'boosts IVF success'

Women undergoing fertility treatment could have their chances of success boosted by acupuncture.

German researchers said they have increased success rates by almost 50% in women having in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

The theory is that acupuncture can affect the autonomic nervous system, which is involved in the control of muscles and glands, and could therefore make the lining of the uterus more receptive to receiving an embryo.

A report published in the journal Fertility and Sterility found the pregnancy rate in the group receiving acupuncture group was 42.5%, compared to the group which did not receive the therapy, where the rate was 26.3%.

The German researchers worked with doctors at the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, China.

Of 160 women undergoing IVF, half received standard in vitro fertilisation, while half were given acupuncture treatments before and after.

The researchers chose acupuncture points which traditional Chinese medicine says relax the uterus.

They also used needles to stimulate meridians involving the spleen, stomach and colon, to improve blood flow and create "more energy in the uterus."

Key relaxation points were also stimulated.

The research team, led by Dr. Wolfgang Paulus and colleagues at the Christian-Lauritzen-Institut in Ulm, Germany, wrote in the journal: "Acupuncture seems to be a useful tool for improving pregnancy rate after assisted reproductive techniques.

Acupuncture has numerous potential fertility-boosting benefits according to New York Weill Cornell physician-scientists

New York, ny (april 29, 2003)--physician-scientists at the center for reproductive medicine and infertility (crmi) at New York Weill Cornell Medical Center call for a definitive study of acupuncture as a fertility treatment, citing its numerous, promising benefits associated with increasing fertility in women. An article in a recent issue of Fertility and Sterility--co-authored by Dr. Zev Rosenwaks, Dr. Pak H. Chung, and Dr. Raymond Chang of Weill Cornell--provides a summary of current research that supports acupunctures potential benefits for fertility treatment, including the stimulation of increased uterine blood flow and fertility hormones.

"Acupuncture, which is nontoxic and relatively affordable, holds much promise as a complementary or alternative fertility treatment," said Dr. Raymond Chang of New York Weill Cornell Medical Center. "Yet, while there are a great number of biological explanations for acupunctures benefits to fertility, as well as significant anecdotal evidence, there has yet to be a definitive clinical study," added Dr. Rosenwaks, Director of CRMI.

"One of the biggest obstacles to any study of acupuncture is a single standard of care," said Dr. Pak H. Chung of New York Weill Cornell Medical Center. "Only appropriate training and certification of acupuncture practitioners by state agencies can facilitate the integration of acupuncture into the treatment of female infertility, and health care in general."

The lead review article reports that acupuncture treatment has the following potential fertility-boosting benefits:

·  Increased blood flow to the uterus and therefore uterine wall thickness, an important marker for fertility

·  Increased endorphin production, which, in turn, has been shown to effect the release of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), a decapeptide involved in regulating reproduction

·  Lower stress hormones responsible for infertility

·  Impact on plasma levels of the fertility hormones: follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), and Progesterone (P)

·  Normalization of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, a key process in fertility

·  A positive effect for women with polycystic ovarian syndrome, a hormonal imbalance present in three percent of adolescents and adults.

[Dr. Rosenwaks, Director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility, and Dr. Chung treat infertility patients at Weill Cornell Medical Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Rosenwaks is the Revlon Professor of Reproductive Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Co-Director of the Institute for Reproductive Medicine, and Attending Obstetrician and Gynecologist at Weill Cornell. Dr. Chung is Assistant Professor of Reproductive Medicine, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Assistant Attending Obstetrician and Gynecologist at Weill Cornell. Dr. Chang is Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell, where he teaches courses on alternative and complementary medicine. He is also affiliated with Meridian Medical.]

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

Received 25 January 2005; received in revised form 12 August 2005; accepted 12 August 2005. published online 5 April 2006.

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.

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More data to be posted here soon.

Thankyou for your interest in how Acupuncture can help this condition.

For general information on Acupuncture please click on the Acupuncture Tab.

For information on Acupuncture Brisbane and how we can help, please click on the Home tab.