Research

  • Success rates in IVF with Acupuncture

    In a study published in Fertility and Sterility in 2009 by Paul Magarelli, Diane Cridennda and Mel Cohen acupuncture was shown to have a benefit for many difference outcomes in IVF. Pregnancy and birth rates where higher. Miscarriage , ectopic pregnancy and multiples births were all lower in the acupuncture group.

    It is from this study, and others, that we get the protocol of doing 9 acupuncture consecutive treatments before the embryo transfer and 2 treatments on the transfer day itself.

    The researchers had already seen in their clinics that acupuncture was beneficial to success rates of women under going IVF, in the study they also tried to figure out why acupuncture helps. In this study they looked at cortisol and prolactin levels in the patients blood to see what acupuncture did to these normally occurring hormones.

    Here is the full study. Look at table 2 for the pregnancy success rate results

  • Study 1

    Chinese herbal formulas have been tested against common Western medical treatments for endometriosis with some exciting results. One such study, conducted at Osaka City University Medical School in Japan, measured immune factors in the blood of a group of women diagnosed with endometriosis. The women were found to have elevated serum levels of anti-endometrial Immunoglobulin-M (IgM) antibody titers, indicating an immune response to the endometrial tissue. One group of these women received treatment with leuproride acetate (Lupron) to suppress hormonal production. A second group received the herbal formula Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan, which historically has been used in China to treat bleeding during pregnancy due to Blood stasis in the womb and to prevent miscarriage. In more recent times, it has been used in the treatment of immunologic and inflammatory conditions of the uterus, including dysmenorrhea, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, chronic pelvic inflammatory disease, inflammation of the fallopian tubes and endometriosis.

    At the conclusion of the study, the Lupron-treated group had lowered levels of estradiol but no change in the IgM antibody titer. The group treated with herbs had no changes in estradiol levels, but the levels of IgM antibody titer were decreased and the patients remained symptom-free for months. It would appear that the herbal formula was able to reduce the body’s immune response to the endometriosis—a hopeful sign when it comes to restoring a woman’s fertility.

    Study 2

    Studies done in China treated women with severe menstrual pain. The authors stated that the primary disease mechanism related to dysmenorrhea is blood stasis—the same pattern that often creates endometriosis. A group of 125 women were diagnosed using the principles of traditional Chinese medicine and categorized into four groups depending on the patterns they were exhibiting, as follows:

    Group 1: Qi stagnation with Blood stasis

    Group 2: Qi stagnation, Blood stasis and cold

    Group 3: Qi stagnation, Blood stasis and heat

    Group 4: Qi stagnation, Blood stasis and vacuity

    The study began by comparing serum levels of various prostaglandins’, a contributing factor in menstrual cramps, in the bloodstreams of all three groups. Then, the women were given either Eastern or Western medical treatment. The women treated with Eastern methods received the herbal formula Jia Wei Mo Jie Tang, whose intended purpose is to invigorate the blood, transform stasis, and move the qi. From a Western medical point of view, the formula achieves its effect by regulating serum prostaglandins. The herbs were taken as a decoction and administered twice a day beginning two weeks before the anticipated start of the period. The other group was given the Western medicine indomethacin, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesic. In both groups, treatment was administered for three months. In the Jia Wei Mo Jie Tang group, 80.4 percent of women experienced relief from their menstrual pain, compared to 73.3 percent for the indomethacin group. Further, Jia Wei Mo Jie Tang seemed to help balance the reproductive cycle, as indicated by markedly lower levels of a negative type of estrogen. The herbal decoction also increased the content of late phase progesterone secreted by the corpus luteum, which is essential to creating a proper climate for implantation. Indomethacin, on the other hand, had no marked effect on either estrogen or progesterone.

    It is clear that Chinese herbal medicines can play an important role in balancing the complex interrelated factors contributing both to the treatment of endometriosis and the promotion of a normal reproductive cycle. But what is most important is to uncover the pattern of imbalance that is the root cause of an individual patient’s problem.

    Study 3

    From 1988 – 1994 the authors of this study treated 38 cases of endometriosis with a modified version of the formula Di Dang Tang in a study reported in Yunnan Journal of Chinese Medicine (1994). The patients ranged in age between 28-46 years old. The symptoms were severe lower abdominal pain with menstruation, dry lips, sweating and damp exterior, and blood clots in menstrual blood and subsiding of pain after clots appeared in menstrual blood. An ultrasound examination diagnosed that there was endometriosis in all cases.

    Over the course of treatment (which lasted 12-72 days), 26 of the 38 women were cured, meaning the symptoms had disappeared and the follow-up ultrasound was normal. Five of the women had some improvement and the remaining 7 had no result.

    Study 4

    In one study reported in the Sichuan Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine (1993) 40 cases of endometriosis were treated with a modified version of ‘Boost the Qi and Transform Stasis Formula’. The patients included in this study were between the ages of 24 and 48 years old and had endometriosis between 1 and 18 years. The endometriosis was diagnosed by a gynecological examination and laproscopic exploration.

    Of this group 25 were infertile and 31 had had previous gynecological surgical procedures. In regards to symptoms, 37 patients experienced intense menstrual pain, 12 had pain with intercourse, 28 had pelvic pain and 18 experienced a heavy distended feeling in the anus.

    After a course of treatment, 33 of the 40 women had obvious reduction in endometrial nodules and disappearance of any symptoms and 7 of these women became pregnant afterwards. Four women had a reduction of symptoms and nodules and 3 women had no change.

    Study 5

    Between 1992 and 1994 one study treated 89 cases of endometriosis treated with a modified Tao He Cheng Qi Tang formula. Patients were between 23 and 46 years old and had endometriosis from 3 months to 11 years. All 89 women were diagnosed using the standards set at the 3rd Chinese National Integrated Chinese-Western Medicine Gynecology Conference. These criteria included lower abdominal pain and pathological lumps and nodulations in the pelvic cavity in addition to one of the following five symptoms: purple tongue; choppy or bound regularly irregular pulse; fixed pain worse with pressure; blood vessel abnormalities and/or subdermal static macules.

    Of the 89 patients, 77 had dysmenorrhea, 24 had pain with intercourse, 39 had pelvic pain, 42 had a heavy distended feeling in the anus, 44 had chocolate ovarian cysts and 30 cases had pelvic nodulations.

    After 2 to 6 menstrual cycles of treatment, 31 women experienced complete disappearance of symptoms, 37 had marked reduction of symptoms, 16 had some effect and 5 cases experienced no change. The blood of 36 women was examined before and after treatment, and all 36 showed improvements in red blood cell agglutination, blood sedimentation, and blood serum viscosity. In 41 women prostaglandin levels were measured and were notably higher then normal value before treatment and all were reduced after treatment.

  • The Treatment of 50 Cases of Unexplained Fertility with Chinese Herbal Medicine by Trevor A. Wing & Elke S. Sedlmeier

    The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between female fertility indicators and the administration of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM). This research project was a prospective cohort clinical study to measure accepted bio-medical factors that affect female fertility and to determine if CHM can improve these factors as well as pregnancy outcome.

    The study took place between November 2003 and December 2004 at a private clinic specializing in the treatment of infertility with TCM. Included in the study were fifty women with the Western medical diagnosis of unexplained infertility.

    Each patient’s menstrual cycle was monitored for one menstrual cycle to measure pre-treatment fertility factors. This monitoring was then followed by treatment with Chinese herbal medicine and subsequent measurement of the changes in the same fertility factors.

    The results observed showed significant differences between the two time points for the majority of factors measured. Pregnancies in the sample group recorded 6 months after commencement of the last treatment were 28, with 11 live births and 7 miscarriages. The study outcome demonstrates that using Chinese herbal medicine results in higher success rates of pregnancy, with no patient side effects and a reduction in the category of patients conventionally classified as having unexplained infertility.