The short answer is yes, acupuncture can improve embryo quality. Now let’s have a look into study details.
Dr Rashidi and his team explored if acupuncture can improve pregnancy rates for PCOS patients undergoing IVF and ICSI. As a result, they found that acupuncture can improve embryo quality.
Sandra L. Emmons, MD
Phillip Patton, MD
Source: Medical Acupuncture, A Journal For Physicians By Physicians
Spring / Summer 2000- Volume 12 / Number 2
“Aurum Nostrum Non Est Aurum Vulgi”
| Table 1. Outcomes for Acupuncture vs Non-Acupuncture Cycles Among 6 Women Undergoing ICSI* | ||||||
|
Patient No.
|
Age, y
|
Non-Acupuncture Cycles
|
AcupunctureCycles
|
|||
| Follicles | Cycles | Follicles | Cycles | |||
| Mean No. | No. | Mean No. | No. | Outcome | ||
| 1 | 29 | 4.7 | 3 | 8 | 1 | IUP |
| 2 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 2 | SAB twice |
| 3 | 36 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 1 | SAB |
| 4 | 37 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 1 | No pregnancy |
| 5 | 38 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | Cycle canceled |
| 6 | 41 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | SAB |
| Mean (SD) | 3.7 (1.0) | 8.4 (1.3) | ||||
| *ICSI indicates intracytoplasmic sperm injection; IUP, intrauterine pregnancy; and SAB, early spontaneous abortion. P=.02 for overall acupuncture follicles vs non-acupuncture follicles. | ||||||
Influence of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy.
Paulus WE, Zhang M, Strehler E, El-Danasouri I, Sterzik K.
Department of Reproductive Medicine, Christian-Lauritzen-Institut, Ulm, Germany. paulus@reprotox.de
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in assisted reproduction therapy (ART) by comparing a group of patients receiving acupuncture treatment shortly before and after embryo transfer with a control group receiving no acupuncture. DESIGN: Prospective randomized study. SETTING: Fertility center. PATIENT(S): After giving informed consent, 160 patients who were undergoing ART and who had good quality embryos were divided into the following two groups through random selection: embryo transfer with acupuncture (n = 80) and embryo transfer without acupuncture (n = 80). INTERVENTION(S): Acupuncture was performed in 80 patients 25 minutes before and after embryo transfer. In the control group, embryos were transferred without any supportive therapy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Clinical pregnancy was defined as the presence of a fetal sac during an ultrasound examination 6 weeks after embryo transfer.
RESULT(S): Clinical pregnancies were documented in 34 of 80 patients (42.5%) in the acupuncture group, whereas pregnancy rate was only 26.3% (21 out of 80 patients) in the control group.
CONCLUSION(S): Acupuncture seems to be a useful tool for improving pregnancy rate after ART.
Influence of acupuncture on idiopathic male infertility in assisted reproductive technology.
Zhang M, Huang G, Lu F, Paulus WE, Sterzik K.
Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030.
The clinical effects of acupuncture on idiopathic male infertility in sperm parameter and on therapeutic results in assisted reproductive technology were investigated. 22 patients failed in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with idiopathic male infertility were treated with acupuncture twice weekly for 8 weeks, followed by ICSI treatment again. The sperm concentration, motility, morphology, fertilization rates and embryo quality were observed. Quick sperm motility after acupuncture (18.3% +/- 9.6%) was significantly improved as compared with that before treatment (11.0% +/- 7.5%, P < 0.01). The normal sperm ratio was increased after acupuncture (21.1% +/- 10.4% vs 16.2% +/- 8.2%, P < 0.05). The fertilization rates after acupuncture (66.2%) were obviously higher than that before treatment (40.2%, P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in sperm concentration and general sperm motility between before and after acupuncture. The embryo quality after acupuncture was improved, but the difference between them was not significant (P > 0.05). Acupuncture can improve sperm quality and fertilization rates in assisted reproductive technology.
J Huazhong Univ Sci Technolog Med Sci. 2002;22(3):228-30.