East meets west and starts a family
by Noel Towell
A
UniSA researcher is exploring how an unlikely paring of the ancient art of
acupuncture and that most modern of fertility treatments, IVF, can help
childless couples to conceive.UniSA's Associate Professor in Complementary Therapies, Dr Caroline Smith, together with the University of Adelaide's Meaghan Coyle and Dr Sarah Robertson, hope the project will determine if acupuncture increases the pregnancy rate in women receiving IVF treatment.
The therapy has been used to treat gynaecological and obstetrical problems, morning sickness and difficulties during labour and delivery so the possible benefits to fertility treatments are no great leap of the imagination.
According to Dr Smith past studies suggest that acupuncture may have a role in improving pregnancy rates among women undergoing embryo transfer. "But these research efforts have had their problems including the use of diverse forms of therapy, problems with blinding of subjects, small studies and a lack of agreement on an appropriate endpoint to the study," she says.
The growth of complementary and alternative therapies in this area has underlined the need for rigorous scientific research into the benefits of these therapies. "The medical profession is demanding greater scientific scrutiny of methods and outcomes in the field of complementary medicine and the study may also encourage health care providers to integrate complementary medicine into fertility treatment," says Dr Smith.
Acupuncture has been around for 2,500 years. Although classical acupuncture refers to the practice of inserting fine needles into specific points of the body, today the term embraces many forms of therapy such as acupressure, ear acupuncture and laser acupuncture.
The team feels that there is a need for a larger randomised and controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of the treatment. They believe that a single, larger, well designed and randomised controlled trial will do much to advance the understanding of the effectiveness of acupuncture on women undergoing fertility treatment.
The initial treatment takes place at the time of egg retrieval and subsequent treatments are administered 25 minutes before and after the embryo transfer. The acupuncture points are selected according to individual diagnosis. All the women are followed up for 10 months after therapy for assessment of the effect of acupuncture on the live birth rate.
According to Dr Smith the key to this research is the non-invasive acupuncture needle which is a convincing simulation of real acupuncture treatment. Placebo acupuncture involves the insertion of the placebo needle into points close to the true acupuncture point.
The study could have major benefits for women undergoing fertility treatment, according to Dr Smith. "Sub-fertility is a major health concern for adults aged 25-44. Up to 15 per cent of couples seek medical advice on getting pregnant according to the World Health Organisation and IVF remains the most effective treatment for those having difficulty conceiving," she said.
The trial is looking at pregnancy and live birth rates in a sample group of 228 women.