By Joene Hendry

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Canadian high school students may lack important knowledge about risk factors for infertility, survey findings suggest. For example, most students were unaware that some sexually transmitted infections can cause infertility.

..... when asked more specific infertility-related questions, fewer students answered correctly, indicating a lack of knowledge that may increase their risk of infertility later in life.....

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From Nerologica Blog

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That’s conservative science speak for - it doesn’t work.

In short - acupuncture is a highly implausible and prescientific modality and its application to IVF is doubly implausible, and current evidence shows it does not work.

Despite the lack of plausibility and evidence, acupuncture remains somewhat popular for IVF in Europe and especially in Asia. For this reason there is still interest in researching this treatment, and the clinical trials are going through the typical evolution toward better design. In acupuncture this means beginning with no control group, then including a standard care control group, and then progressing to sham acupuncture as a control group.

Sham acupuncture means that needles are inserted, but not in the proscribed locations. These studies gave mixed results, which is expected from an ineffective treatment. Negative trials could be dismissed by saying that the sham acupuncture was effective - after all, needles are being inserted. Positive trials could be dismissed by arguing that the treatment was not properly blinded. After all, the acupuncturist knows if they are giving true or sham acupuncture and may convey that to the subject. So while the evidence generally favors the null hypothesis (no effect), and the better trials showed at least that it does not matter where you stick the needles (arguing strongly against the idea that acupuncture is a specific technique), there was still plenty of wiggle room on both sides.

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What's your experience?

What is IVF?IVF is the process of fertilization by manually combining an egg and sperm in a laboratory dish.
How successful is in vitro fertilization?
30 to 35% for women under age 35
25% for women ages 35 to 37
15 to 20% for women ages 38 to 40
6 to 10% for women ages over 40

Two new studies have now found that acupuncture seems to have no effect in boosting a woman's chances of falling pregnant.

The first, carried out at a hospital in Chicago, saw 124 women split into two groups, with the first given genuine acupuncture for 25 minutes before and after IVF.

The second group received fake or "sham'' acupuncture, where needles were inserted into the body but not at known acupuncture points.

University of Hong Kong, found that sham acupuncture appeared to work better than genuine acupuncture.

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Another story:

There are around 90 treatises written on acupuncture between the Han and Song dynasties. A figure template with all the meridians and acupuncture points marked out, was designed on instruction of the Song emperor Renzong. This figure template is still in use today. As a treatment for infertility, acupuncture is gaining popularity. It is commonly used in conjunction with other infertility treatments such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF). A recent scientific study conducted by the University of Southhampton in Britain, concluded that acupuncture for infertility increases the chance of successful birth for women undergoing IVF fertility treatment. The normal success rate is 1 in 5 while those who combine IVF treatment with acupuncture for infertility, are successful 1 in 3 times.

Acupuncture for infertility has been shown to be successful in increasing the chance of pregnancy for IVF (in-vitro fertilization) treatment. Acupuncture treatment is normally complemented by a proper diet, healthy lifestyle habits and emotional well-being. Depending on the diagonsis, acupuncture can performed on either the male or female, or both. Acupuncture improves the chance of conception by helping the woman to relax, regulates the reproductive hormones and increases the blood flow to the uterus. It also thickens the lining of the uterus. For men, acupuncture can increase the quality of the sperm. All these serve to increase the chance of conceiving successfully.

Do note that acupuncture for infertility works only for those who have a functional reason for infertility. If you have fertility problem caused by a physical defect such as damaged reproductive organs, it may not be effective. In any case, if the treatment is indeed something that can help you, the effects should be apparent after a few visits to the acupuncturist. To enhance the effectiveness of acupuncture, you may also want to combine with herbal remedies as well as other natural approaches to infertility treatment such as proper diet and a healthy lifestyle.

Mach is a professional writer. For more information on infertility treatment, visit http://www.maleinfertilitysolutions.com

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What is current research about acupuncture for infertility?
(1)some research have suggested that acupuncture might improve ovulation rate
(2)Some studies suggest an improvement in sperm number or motility
(3)Studies performed by Ng and colleagues did show higher pregnancy rates with acupuncture during IVF
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In China,there are haven't many successful case about this,it's possibly why.....

So What your opinion?