ABSTRACT The aim of this paper was to determine the effect of acupuncture on perceived stress levels in women on the day of embryo transfer (ET), and to determine if perceived stress levels at embryo transfer correlated with pregnancy rates. The study was an observational, prospective, cohort study based at the University IVF center. PATIENT(S): 57 infertile patients undergoing IVF or IVF/ICSI. INTERVENTIONS(S): Patients were undergoing Embryo Transfer with or without acupuncture as part of their standard clinical care. Acupuncture protocol: Paulus protocol (from 2002) MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Perceive Stress Scale scores, pregnancy rates. RESULT(S): women who received this acupuncture...Weiterlesen

ABSTRACT The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of the acupuncture treatment on sperm parameters and pregnancy rates in patients with primary infertility. Between January 2008 and May 2010, 30 men with the primary infertility (one year of unprotected intercourse, healthy wife) and varicocele with normal hormone levels and abnormal semen analysis were randomised into two groups. Group 1 underwent subinguinal microscopic varicocelectomy, and Group 2 underwent acupuncture treatment twice a week for 2 months. Both groups were evaluated with semen analysis at 6 months after the treatment. Patients in both groups evaluated with telephone calls and e-mail in...Weiterlesen

Objective To evaluate the ultramorphologic sperm features of idiopathic infertile men after acupuncture therapy. Design Prospective controlled study. Setting Christian-Lauritzen-Institut, Ulm, IVF center Munich, Germany, and Department of General Biology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy. Patient(s) Forty men with idiopathic oligospermia, asthenospermia, or teratozoospermia. Intervention(s) Twenty eight of the patients received acupuncture twice a week over a period of 5 weeks. The samples from the treatment group were randomized with semen samples from the 12 men in the untreated control group. Main Outcome Measure(s) Quantitative analysis by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to evaluate the samples, using the mathematical...Weiterlesen

Bei einer Oligoasthenoteratozoospermie besteht eine Einschränkung der Zeugungsfähigkeit des Mannes, die unterschiedlich stark ausgeprägt sein kann. Im Spermiogramm existiert eine Kombination aus einer zu geringen Anzahl an Spermien, die zudem zu wenig beweglich und fehlgebildet sind. In der Studie von Maretti et al. (2017) wurde untersucht, ob die Gabe eines Präparates aus Pro- und Präbiotika bei Männern mit idiopathischer (ohne fassbare Ursache entstehend) Oligoasthenoteratozoospermie zu einer Verbesserung von Qualität und Quantität der Spermien beitragen kann. 41 Patienten mit idiopathischer Oligoasthenoteratozoospermie nahmen an der Studie teil, bei der 20 Patienten für die Dauer von 6 Monaten täglich das Präparat aus Pro-...Weiterlesen

Etwa 10 % aller Paare sind von Unfruchtbarkeit und einem unerfüllten Kinderwunsch betroffen. Dabei ist das Oligo-Astheno-Teratozoospermie-Syndrom (OAT-Syndrom) die häufigste Fruchtbarkeitsstörung bei Männern. Beim OAT-Syndrom sind zu wenige Spermien vorhanden, welche zudem unbeweglicher und fehlgebildet sind. Zudem entsteht eine erhöhte Fragmentierung also eine Zerstörung der DNA in den Spermien. Das OAT-Syndrom kann unterschiedliche Ursachen haben. Eine italienische Studie untersuchte nun die Effizienz eines neuen Medikaments, welches sich aus verschiedenen pflanzlichen Wirkstoffen zusammensetzt. Dafür wurden 60 Männer mit OAT-Syndrom und damit verbundener Unfruchtbarkeit in 2 Gruppen eingeteilt. Die erste Gruppe wurde mit einer täglichen Dosis von 1000 mg Myo-Inositol, 300 mg...Weiterlesen

ABSTRACT Objective: The objective was to perform a large, well-powered trial to assess the benefit of laser acupuncture (LA) on in vitrofertilization (IVF) success. Utilization of LA as a treatment allowed improvement of control groups used in prior studies, because there was no possibility of the potentially confounding effect of acupressure, noted in prior studies with blunt-tip controls. Materials and Methods: This was a four-arm, randomized controlled trial conducted at two private-practice fertility centers on couples who were attempting conception through IVF between June 2005 and January 2008. Following ovarian stimulation and oocyte retrieval, patients were randomized to needle acupuncture...Weiterlesen

Akupunktur und chinesische Kräuter erhöhen Fruchtbarkeit Wissenschaftler aus Israel haben in einer retrospektiven Studie herausgefunden, dass Frauen, die sich einer künstlichen Befruchtung unterziehen und gleichzeitig nach den Regeln der traditionellen chinesischen Medizin (TCM) behandelt werden, eine höhere Schwangerschafts- und Geburtsrate hatten als Frauen in der Kontrollgruppe, die ausschließlich die künstliche Befruchtung durchführten (1). Die Behandlungsgruppe umfasste 29 Frauen im Alter zwischen 30 und 45 Jahren (Durchschnittsalter 39 Jahre), die mit 94 Frauen aus der Kontrollgruppe (Alter ebenfalls von 30-45 Jahren, Durchschnittsalter 37 Jahre) verglichen wurden. Die Frauen in der Behandlungsgruppe erhielten neben Akupunktur auch Behandlungen mit chinesischen Heilkräutern und hatten...Weiterlesen

A new clinical study concludes that acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine have potent effects in reversing infertility. Several types of patients suffering from infertility participated in the study including those using IVF, IUI and those using no biomedical assistance. All types showed significantly improved successful pregnancy rates. The researchers cited prior investigations measuring the biological mechanisms by which acupuncture enhances fertility. The researchers note that beta-endorphins and related neurotransmitters stimulated by acupuncture causes the secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). This exerts a regulatory effect on the menstrual cycle and ovulation. Acupuncture has been shown to enhance the micro-circulation of blood...Weiterlesen

Electro-acupuncture (EA) may improve reproductive hormone levels in patients with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR), according to preliminary research from China. Twenty-one patients with DOR received EA over 12 weeks (five times a week for four weeks, followed by three times a week for eight weeks). Standardised EA treatment was provided using two alternating point prescriptions: A (Zhongliao BL-33) and B (Tianshu ST-25, Zigong M-CA-18 and Zhongji REN-4). Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels were observed to fall by almost half from baseline to week 12, and this decrease persisted until 12 weeks post-treatment, with no significant side effects. In addition, oestradiol and luteinising hormone (LH)...Weiterlesen

Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) may help improve IVF outcomes, according to a study by Chinese and British researchers. Four hundred and eighty-one infertile patients with bilateral tubal blockage who were referred for IVF were randomised into four groups; a TEAS-2Hz group, a TEAS-100Hz group, a TEAS-2/100Hz group and a control group who received routine IVF treatment only. TEAS (which uses self-adhesive electrodes instead of needles to stimulate acupoints) was administered once for 30 minutes, 24 hours before transvaginal oocyte retrieval, and once two hours before embryo transfer (ET). Acupoints included bilateral Xuehai SP-10, Diji SP-8, Taichong LIV-3, Zusanli ST-36,...Weiterlesen