P-60: Utilization of Acupuncture in the Treatmentof Female and Male Infertility

Background: The use of complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) for health care has been increasing including the use of acupuncture for the treatment of infertility. The aim of this study was to review existing scientific rationale and clinical data in the utilization of acupuncture in the treatment of female and male infertility. Materials and Methods: Medline, Science Direct computer search was performed to identify relevant articles about the utilization of acupuncture in the treatment of female and male infertility.Results: The peripheral impact of acupuncture in improving uterine artery blood flow and hence endometrial thickness also provides encouraging data regarding its potential positive effect on implantation. Paulus et al. reported that the women who received 25 minutes of acupuncture before and a gain 25 minutes after embryo transfer had a 42.5% clinical pregnancy rates (PR) compared to a 26.3% rate (p=.03) in the control subjects who laid quietly for an equivalent amount of time. Domar et al. demonstrated that the use of acupuncture in patients undergoing IVF was not associated with an increase in PR however; they were more relaxed and more optimistic. Numerous researches of acupuncture treatment on infertile men have also been conducted. Reports from uncontrolled trials using acupuncture on infertile men have indicated that a positive effect on sperm concentration and motility, an increase in testosterone, and some improvement in luteinizing hormone (LH) level. These studies have also shown enhance of normally shaped sperm and a significant decrease in the percentage of morphologically abnormal sperm. Some studies also have implied that acupuncture did not trigger subjective behavior alterations or influence sexual behavior. Conclusion: The treatment of idiopathic male and female infertility could benefit from employing acupuncture. Prospective randomized controlled studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture in female and male fertility treatment.