To cite: Carr D. Acupunct Med 2015;33:2–6. The role of somatosensory stimulation (acupuncture and related techniques) as an adjunct to assisted reproductive technology (ART) has been hotly debated over the past decade. In the last 6 years there have been no fewer than 12 meta-analyses of 34 randomised controlled trials (table 1). Systematic and narrative reviews of the literature often report c...

Lifestyle is increasingly recognized as an outcome-determining factor in assisted reproduction, not only with regard to the cost-effectiveness but also in view of the balance of benefits and risks, including risks related to the welfare of the future child. This document briefly summarizes the evidence concerning the impact of three lifestyle-related factors (obesity, tobacco smoking and alcoho...

OBJECTIVE Surgery remains the mainstay in the diagnosis and management of endometriosis. The number of surgeries performed for endometriosis worldwide is ever increasing, however do we have evidence for improvement of infertility after the surgery and do we exaggerate the magnitude of effect of surgery when we counsel our patients? The management of patients who failed the surgery could be by r...

Background: Cryopreservation of ovaries is an important technique in assisted reproduction technology. Physical forces like hydrostatic pressure have a pivotal role in reproduction systems. Due to changes in intrafollicular pressure during ovulatory process, this study designed to examine the effects of hydrostatic pressure on oocyte maturation and cell death in cumulus cells from cryopreserved...

Background Pre-conceptional supplementation with folic acid is recognized as essential for the prevention of neural tube defects. However, the reproductive effects of folic acid may extend well beyond this well-recognized effect and may have an important role in improving fertility and survival of the conceptus and fetus. MaterialsAndMethods We evaluated the association between pre-conceptional...

All current approaches to manipulating the reproductive biology of the nonpregnant mare are discussed.

Since the birth of the first test-tube baby in 1978, Assisted Reproduction Techniques (ART) has been performed all over the world to alleviate human infertility. In 1991 with the advent of the Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) technique, a reasonable rate of male infertility cases due to severe oligospermia were successfully solved. However, several concerns about the safety and impact o...

A matched follow-up study design was used to test the hypothesis that pregnancy rates following assisted reproduction procedures do not differ between women with or without intramural or sub-serosal uterine leiomyomas. Women undergoing their first in-vitro fertilization (IVF)-embryo transfer or zygote intra-Fallopian transfer (ZIFT) cycle between January 1993 and June 1995 were included. Cases ...