"Frozen Embryos Are Just as Good for IVF as Fresh Ones"

"Couples undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) have many difficult decisions to make on the road to starting a family. Among them is the decision to use fresh or frozen embryos.

Before freezing methods were refined, fresh embryos were the only option, but as cryopreservation techniques improved, freezing embryos so that not all of the healthiest ones had to be transferred to the woman immediately became more popular. Most IVF clinics today take advantage of embryo freezing.

But whether frozen embryos contributed to the same pregnancy and live birth rates as fresh embryos wasn’t clear. In two papers published in the New England Journal of Medicine, an international group of researchers led by scientists in Vietnam and China report that pregnancy and live birth rates are similar among women who used fresh or frozen embryos."

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"Traditional Chinese medicine makes fertility treatments effective"

Traditional Chinese medicine has long been used to ease pain and treat disease.
Now researchers have found it can also boost fertility if used in combination with fertility treatments.
A team led by Dr Shahar Levi-Ari from Tel Aviv University compared the success rates of couples using intrauterine insemination (IUI) both with and without Chinese herbal and acupuncture therapies.
IUI involves a laboratory procedure to separate fast moving sperm from more sluggish sperm.
The fast moving sperm are then placed into the woman’s womb close to the time of ovulation when the egg is released from the ovary in the middle of the monthly cycle. 
The results, which have been published in the Journal of Integrative Medicine, show a significant increase in fertility when the therapies are administered side-by-side.

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posted by Sharon Wyse L.Ac.

Chinese Herbal Medicine can improve pregnancy rates 2-fold within a 4 month period compared with Western Medical fertility drug therapy or IVF

Efficacy of Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine in the management of female infertility: a systematic review.

Ried K, Stuart K.

Source

Discipline of General Practice, School of Population Health & Clinical Practice, The University of Adelaide, South Australia. Karin.ried@adelaide.edu.au

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

To assess the effect of Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) in the management of female infertility and on pregnancy rates compared with Western Medical (WM) treatment.

METHODS:

We searched the Medline and Cochrane databases and Google Scholar until February 2010 for abstracts in English of studies investigating infertility, menstrual health and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). We undertook meta-analyses of (non-)randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or cohort studies, and compared clinical pregnancy rates achieved with CHM versus WM drug treatment or in vitro fertilisation (IVF). In addition, we collated common TCM pattern diagnosis in infertility in relation to the quality of the menstrual cycle and associated symptoms.

RESULTS:

Eight RCTs, 13 cohort studies, 3 case series and 6 case studies involving 1851 women with infertility were included in the systematic review. Meta-analysis of RCTs suggested a 3.5 greater likelihood of achieving a pregnancy with CHM therapy over a 4-month period compared with WM drug therapy alone (odds ratio=3.5, 95% CI: 2.3, 5.2, p<0.0001, n=1005). Mean (SD) pregnancy rates were 60±12.5% for CHM compared with 32±10% using WM drug therapy. Meta-analysis of selected cohort studies (n=616 women) suggested a mean clinical pregnancy rate of 50% using CHM compared with IVF (30%) (p<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS:

Our review suggests that management of female infertility with Chinese Herbal Medicine can improve pregnancy rates 2-fold within a 4 month period compared with Western Medical fertility drug therapy or IVF. Assessment of the quality of the menstrual cycle, integral to TCM diagnosis, appears to be fundamental to successful treatment of female infertility.
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Posted by Sharon Wyse L.Ac

"Chinese medicine double chances childless couples conceiving"

"Couples with fertility problems are twice as likely to get pregnant using traditional Chinese medicine as western drugs, say researchers."

"They found a two-fold improvement in pregnancy rates over just four months of treatment from practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine.
At least six million Britons have consulted a Western or traditional Chinese herbal practitioner in the last two years, according to Ipsos Mori research.
Previous research suggests acupuncture may help some childless couples to conceive.
The latest study from researchers at Adelaide University, Australia, reviewed eight clinical trials, 13 other studies and case reports comparing the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with western drugs or IVF treatment."

"The review funded by the Australian government included 1,851 women with infertility problems, says a report in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine.
Review of the clinical trials alone found a 3.5 rise in pregnancies over a four-month period among women using TCM compared with western medicine. 
Other data covering 616 women within the review showed 50 per cent of women having TCM got pregnant compared with 30 per cent of those receiving IVF treatment.

The overall analysis concluded there was a two-fold increase in the likelihood of getting pregnant in a four-month period for women using TCM compared with orthodox approaches.
The study’s authors said ‘Our meta-analysis suggests traditional Chinese herbal medicine to be more effective in the treatment of female infertility - achieving on average a 60 per cent pregnancy rate over four months compared with 30 per cent achieved with standard western drug treatment.’
The study said the difference appeared to be due to the careful analysis of the menstrual cycle – the period when it is possible for a woman to conceive – by TCM practitioners.
It said ‘Assessment of the quality of the menstrual cycle integral to TCM diagnosis appears to be fundamental to the successful treatment of female infertility.’

Dr Karin Ried of the university’s school of population health and clinical practice, who led the study, said infertility affects one in six couples and even after investigations 20 per cent of infertility remains ‘unexplained’.
She said TCM recognises many more ‘menstrual disturbances’ than conventional medicine, is far less expensive than IVF treatment and less stressful.
She said ‘Infertility issues can be treated with the integration of TCM and contemporary medicine to minimise the financial and emotional strain on people.’
Geeta Nargund, medical director of Create fertility clinic in London’s Harley Street, who uses a kinder form of IVF called in-vitro maturation or IVM which spares the woman exposure to drug hormones, said the study findings should be treated with caution.

She said ‘We should be doing everything we can to use the least invasive methods to help patients get pregnant, if they don’t work then we can move on to drugs and more invasive approaches.
‘What we desperately need is detailed research into these alternative approaches that monitors what is happening to the body’s hormone systems and ovaries so we can see what difference they are making.
‘But we should not lose sight of the fact that Chinese herbs are potent medicines. They are regarded as natural but they have powerful effects on the body which can include a syndrome that mimics the over-stimulation we sometimes see from western IVF drugs.

‘There are potential risks from using herbs and people should be aware of that’ she added.

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Reposted by Sharon Wyse L.Ac.