Infertility and IVF Support and Acupuncture
New
York, (april 29, 2003)--physician-scientists at the center for
reproductive medicine and infertility (crmi) at New York Weill
Cornell medical center call for a definitive study of acupuncture
as a fertility treatment, citing its numerous, promising benefits
associated with increasing fertility in women.An article in
a recent issue of Fertility and Sterility--co-authored by Dr.
Zev Rosenwaks, Dr. Pak H. Chung, and Dr. Raymond Chang of Weill
Cornell--provides a summary of current research that supports
acupunctures potential benefits for fertility treatment, including
the stimulation of increased uterine blood flow and fertility
hormones.
"Acupuncture,
which is nontoxic and relatively affordable, holds much promise
as a complementary or alternative fertility treatment,"
said Dr. Raymond Chang of New York Weill Cornell Medical Center.
"Yet, while there are a great number of biological explanations
for acupunctures benefits to fertility, as well as significant
anecdotal evidence, there has yet to be a definitive clinical
study," added Dr. Rosenwaks, Director of CRMI.
"One of the biggest obstacles to any study of acupuncture
is a single standard of care," said Dr. Pak H. Chung of
New York Weill Cornell Medical Center. "Only appropriate
training and certification of acupuncture practitioners by state
agencies can facilitate the integration of acupuncture into
the treatment of female infertility, and health care in general."
The lead review article reports that acupuncture treatment
has the following potential fertility-boosting benefits:
Increased
blood flow to the uterus and therefore uterine wall thickness,
an important marker for fertility.
Increased
endorphin production, which, in turn, has been shown to
effect the release of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH),
a decapeptide involved in regulating reproduction.
Lower
stress hormones responsible for infertility.
Impact
on plasma levels of the fertility hormones: follicle-stimulating
hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), and
Progesterone (P).
Normalization
of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, a key process
in fertility.
A
positive effect for women with polycystic ovarian syndrome,
a hormonal imbalance present in three percent of adolescents
and adults.
Acupuncture
is the manipulation of thin metallic needles inserted into anatomically
defined locations on the body to affect bodily function. These
so-called acupoints correspond to areas on the surface of the
body that have been shown to have greater electrical conductance
due to the presence of a higher density of gap junctions along
cell borders. A greater metabolic rate, temperature, and calcium
ion concentration are also observed at these points.
Dr. Rosenwaks, Director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine
and Infertility, and Dr. Chung treat infertility patients at
Weill Cornell Medical Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
Dr. Rosenwaks is the Revlon Professor of Reproductive Medicine
in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Co-Director of the Institute for
Reproductive Medicine, and Attending Obstetrician and Gynecologist
at Weill Cornell. Dr. Chung is Assistant Professor of Reproductive
Medicine, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
and Assistant Attending Obstetrician and Gynecologist at Weill
Cornell. Dr. Chang is Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine
at Weill Cornell, where he teaches courses on alternative and
complementary medicine. He is also affiliated with Meridian
Medical.
References: www.cornell.edu
