Male Fertility
For males the main problems that they encounter in the fertility process are low sperm count, poor sperm motility and/or poor sperm shape or morphology. Other problems men encounter are varicoceles, situational impotence , erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation, tubal blockages, testicular failure and antisperm antibodies. Couples together can also suffer from unexplained infertility.
Treatment Plans
1 hour acupuncture treatment each week plus herbal medicines
1 extra treatment in the time around his partners ovulation to help
the sperm when they are need the most.
This is the preconception phase. The health of the parents before
and at the time of conception, and the mother's health during the
early stages of her pregnancy have an influence on the health of the
baby. It is optimal to treat for at least 3 months before conception
for optimal sperm health and to maximize your chances of pregnancy
and carrying a health child to term. A man's sperm take 90 days to
fully develop. Therefore, the quality of your sperm are actually determined
during the 3 months before you start to conceive or the IUI/IVF cycle
begins. This is why it is recommended to allow adequate time during
the preconception phase to "Cultivate the soil before planting
the seed" and allow for at least three months for your treatments
and healthier life style habits to take affect.
Research
Acupuncture can improve sperm quality and fertilization rates in ICSI
22 patients with idiopathic male infertility who failed in ICSI,
were treated with acupuncture twice weekly for 8 weeks, followed by
ICSI treatment again. The sperm concentration, motility, morphology,
fertilization rates and embryo quality were observed. Sperm motility
after acupuncture improved significantly. The normal sperm ratio was
increased after acupuncture. The fertilization rates (66.2%) were
significantly higher and the embryo quality improved. The conclusion
of the study was that acupuncture can improve sperm quality and fertilization
rates in IVF.
J Huangzhong Iniv Sci Technol med Sci 2002;22(3):228-30
Acupuncture can increase sperm motility and the intactness of the
azonema
A study was carried out in Israel on 16 patients with subfertility
due to poor sperm motility. They were treated with acupuncture twice
a week for 5 weeks and compared to a control group. The sperm motility
and intactness of the axonema were greatly increased in the study
group.
Siterman S, Eltes F, Wolfson V, Zabludovsky N, Bartoov B, The effect
of acupuncture on sperm parameters of males suffering from subfertility
related to low sperm motility. Arch Androl 1997, Sep-Oct; 39 (2):
155-61
Effects of acupuncture and moxa treatment in patients with semen abnormalities.
In this study men receiving acupuncture had significant increases
in the percentage of normal-form sperm compared to the control group
that did not receive acupuncture.
Gurfinkel et.al. Asian J Androl. 2003 Dec;5(4):345-8
A study in treating subfertility by acupuncture was carried out in
Germany on 28 men. Each patient received a total of 10 treatments
for a period of three weeks. The spermiograms and hormone levels were
checked before and after acupuncture. Total count, concentration and
motility were evaluated and in all cases the researchers observed
a statistically significant improvement of sperm quality. The authors
conclude that acupuncture therapy at the time of ovulation might increase
the chances of a pregnancy.
Ischl F, Riegler R, Bieglmayer C, Nasr F, Neumark J (Modification
of semen quality by acupuncture in subfertile males) Geburtshilfe
Frauenheilkd. 1984 Aug; 44 (8): 510-2
Acupuncture has been found to be useful in treating males with very low sperm count, especially those with a history of genital tract infection
Research was carried out in Tel Aviv to observe the effects of acupuncture
on males with very low sperm count. 17 of the males were azoospermic,
and 3 had severe oligotertoasthenozoospermia (OTA). After a course
of acupuncture treatment, the OTA only had a slight increase in sperm
count, whilst 67% of the azoospermic patients showed a definite increase
in sperm count, seven of them significantly. Males with genital tract
inflammation had the most marked improvement in sperm density. The
study concludes that acupuncture might be a useful treatment for males
with a very low sperm count, especially those with a history of genital
tract infection.
Siterman S, Eltes F, Wolfson V, Lederman H, Bartoov B. Does acupuncture
treatment affect sperm density in males with very low sperm count?
A pilot study. Andrologia 2000 Jan; 32 (1): 31-9.
A Chinese study was carried out on 54 males with impaired fertility.
1-3 months of acupuncture therapy was given, and sperm analysis carried
out before and after treatment. 55.5% of patients impregnated their
partners in that period of time, and 24% showed a significant improvement
in sperm parameters. 20% of patients, previously diagnosed with azoospermia
and immune disturbance, did not improve. The best improvement was
seen in patients with abnormal sperm.
Qian, Z [Clinical observation of 54 cases of male infertility treated
by acupuncture and moxibustion] Journal of Chinese Medicine, 1996
Sep; 52.
Acupuncture Helps Lower Scrotum Temperature, Increase Sperm Count infertility
Conclusion: men that manifest higher scrotal temperatures due to genital tract inflammation or poor lifestyle habits can benefit from the scrotal temperature lowering effects of acupuncture.
Poor spermatogenesis in patients with inflammation of the genital
tract is associated with scrotal hyperthermia. These patients can
benefit from acupuncture treatment. We conducted a study to verify
whether the influence of acupuncture treatment on sperm output in
patients with low sperm density is associated with a decrease in scrotal
temperature. The experimental group included 39 men who were referred
for acupuncture owing to low sperm output. The control group, which
comprised 18 normal fertile men, was used to define a threshold (30.5
degrees C) above which scrotal skin temperature was considered to
be high. Accordingly, 34 of the 39 participants in the experimental
group initially had high scrotal skin temperature; the other five
had normal values. Scrotal skin temperature and sperm concentration
were measured before and after acupuncture treatment. The five patients
with initially normal scrotal temperatures were not affected by the
acupuncture treatment. Following treatment, 17 of the 34 patients
with hyperthermia, all of whom had genital tract inflammation, had
normal scrotal skin temperature; in 15 of these 17 patients, sperm
count was increased. In the remaining 17 men with scrotal hyperthermia,
neither scrotal skin temperature nor sperm concentration was affected
by the treatment. About 90% of the latter patients suffered from high
gonadotropins or mixed etiological factors. Low sperm count in patients
with inflammation of the genital tract seems to be associated with
scrotal hyperthermia, and, consequently, acupuncture treatment is
recommended for these men.
Asian Journal of Andrology (2009) 11: 200-208. doi: 10.1038/aja.2008.4;
published online 5 January 2009.
Asian J Androl. 2009 Mar;11(2):200-8. Epub 2009 Jan 5. Siterman S, Eltes F, Schechter L, Maimon Y, Lederman H, Bartoov B.[1] 1Maccabi Fund Complementary Medicine, Kaufman Street, Tel Aviv 68012, Israel [2] 2Refuot-Integrative Medical Centre, Ramat Aviv Gimel, Tel Aviv 69123, Israel.
Produce More Sperm - Increasing Ejaculate Volume
By Ben Anderson
New research by Israeli fertility experts has challenged current
medical opinion, which holds that refraining from sex for up to a
week is beneficial for men prior to undergoing some types of fertility
treatment.
Doctors from Soroka University and Ben-Gurion University tested over
7,200 semen samples for semen volume, sperm concentration and shape,
and the percentage and total count of motile (active and moving) sperm.
The samples were from around 6,000 men being investigated or treated
for infertility who had abstained from sex for periods of up to two
weeks.
More than 4,500 of the samples had normal sperm counts while the remainder
had varying degrees of oligozoospermic (reduced) counts ranging from
mild, through moderate, to severe.
The researchers found that while the volume of semen increased up
to 11 to 14 days of abstinence, whatever the sperm count was, the
morphology (shape and form) of the sperm gradually deteriorated.
In the samples from men with reduced sperm counts the proportion of
motile sperm actually fell significantly from day two onwards, reaching
a low at day six and remaining low.
Dr. Eliahu Levitas will tell the annual meeting of the European Society
of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Madrid: "Semen volume
was directly and significantly correlated with duration of abstinence,
while sperm motility was inversely and significantly related to abstinence
in oligozoospermic samples only. The percentage of normal forms of
sperm was inversely and significantly related to abstinence in both
moderately oligozoospermic and normal samples."
Dr. Levitas, a senior physician at the fertility and IVF unit of Soroka
University Medical Center, said that most fertility clinics followed
the World Health Organisation guidelines of recommending sexual abstinence
for two to seven days prior to treatment.
"Our data challenge the role of abstinence in male infertility
treatments. What we have found is not so relevant to ICSI, where only
a single sperm is injected into the egg, but for those treatments
where we are trying to get the best possible sperm quality for intra-uterine
insemination.
"For these patients we recommend minimal abstinence - ideally
no more than two days."
Dr. Levitas said there was no real consensus among researchers as
to why sperm gets damaged and becomes less viable. "It's possible
that there is oxidative DNA damage by, for example, cigarette smoking
or other damaging agents. Or perhaps the sperm from oligozoospermic
men is more susceptible to detrimental agents and therefore might
benefit from spending only a short time in the reproductive tract."
Ben Anderson - Administrator - GF Lifestyles Article
Source: EzineArticles.com
A Chinese study was carried out on 248 males who suffered from sperm
abnormities, absence of ejaculation and impotence. Treatment of acupuncture
was given every other day. 20 treatments comprised one course. 2 courses
were given (approx 2 months). About half of the patients with abnormal
sperm achieved good sperm count and motility. (20-60mill/ml with 20-60%
motility and less than 20% deformity). 52 % of patients with abnormal
sperm failed to respond, a large percentage of those (40%) who were
diagnosed with azoospermia, failed to respond at all.
Zhang J [The Acupuncture treatment of 248 cases of male infertility],
Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Vol 7, 1987.