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Research on Acupuncture and Fertility
Acupuncture boost IVF success rate
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).
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 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.
Dr. Sandra Carson, president-elect of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, which publishes the journal, said: "If these findings are confirmed, they may help us improve the odds for our (in vitro fertilisation) patients' achieving pregnancy."
@BBC Tuesday 16 April 2002
A team of researchers based at Univerfsity of Maryland have reviewed and analysed a large number of clinical trials involving the use of acupuncture for fertility on 1366 women. The review concluded that acupuncture given with embryo transfer improves rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing in vitro fertilisation.
@'Effects of acupuncture on rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing in vitro fertilisation: systematic review and meta-analysis.' BMJ February 2008
Acupuncture reduce miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy rate
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 end point.
"Other studies have looked at pregnancy rates, but what is really important is whether or not there is a baby," said Paul C. Magarelli, M.D., who reported his findings at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
The retrospective study included 131 women who were undergoing standard in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). All of these women were considered good prognosis candidates for IVF/ICSI and were given the choice of having acupuncture.
A total of 83 women declined (controls) and 48 accepted.
The study found that the miscarriage rate was almost halved in the acupuncture group (8% vs. 14%).
In addition, the rate of ectopic pregnancies was significantly lower in the acupuncture group--0 of 24 pregnancies (0%) vs. 2 of 37 pregnancies (9%), said Dr. Magarelli, who is also in private practice in Colorado Springs and Albuquerque.
Thus, the live-birth rate per IVF/ICSI cycle was significantly higher in the acupuncture group than in controls (21% vs. 16%).
"The live-birth rate per pregnancy is an even more telling number, since some cycles get cancelled. There was a 42% live-birth rate per pregnancy in the acupuncture group, compared to a 35% rate in the nonacupuncture group," Dr. Magarelli said in an interview with this newspaper.
"We believe that what we are doing is improving the uterine environment such that implantation is improved," he added.
"This protocol has demonstrated reductions in uterine contractility, so by relaxing the uterus before the embryo transfer and immediately after, we felt we were setting up a better environment for implantation," Dr. Magarelli said.
@Paul C. Magarelli, M.D., Annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, 2005
