A major international study led in part by Penn State College of Medicine has found that acupuncture, whether used alone or alongside the fertility drug clomiphene, does not improve pregnancy outcomes in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The results challenge earlier, smaller studies that suggested acupuncture could support fertility in women suffering from PCOS-related infertility.
Disappointing Results for Acupuncture in Fertility Treatment
Dr. Richard S. Legro, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Penn State College of Medicine, helped lead the research. He explained that the team had hoped acupuncture combined with clomiphene would offer a better chance of pregnancy than either treatment alone. However, their findings revealed otherwise.
“Our hypothesis was that women who received acupuncture with clomiphene would do much better than women who received only active acupuncture or only clomiphene,” said Legro. “But we found that acupuncture added very little. That was surprising.”
Understanding PCOS and Current Treatments
PCOS affects 5% to 10% of women of reproductive age and is the most common cause of female infertility. The condition disrupts regular ovulation, making it difficult for women to conceive.
Clomiphene is often prescribed as a first-line treatment to stimulate ovulation. But the drug doesn’t always work. In some women, it fails to improve ovulation or lead to live births. And when it does succeed, it often increases the likelihood of multiple births, which carry higher risks for both mother and babies.
With many women turning to acupuncture as a natural supplement to help induce ovulation, researchers wanted to test if combining it with clomiphene would increase success rates.
The Study: Design and Scope
The study was a large, randomized, multicenter clinical trial. It involved 1,000 Chinese women diagnosed with PCOS across 21 different clinical sites in China. The trial was carefully designed to evaluate acupuncture’s effectiveness, both on its own and alongside medication.
Participants were divided into four groups:
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Clomiphene with active acupuncture
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Clomiphene with placebo (or mock) acupuncture
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Placebo medication with active acupuncture
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Placebo medication with mock acupuncture
Each woman received acupuncture or mock acupuncture twice a week. They also took clomiphene or placebo medication for five days during each ovulation cycle. The treatment period lasted for up to six months, and researchers tracked pregnancy outcomes for another 10 months afterward.
Neither the patients nor their doctors knew which treatments they were receiving, a method known as double-blind testing, which helps ensure unbiased results.
Findings: Acupuncture Offers No Added Benefit
After analyzing the data from the 926 women who completed the trial, researchers found no difference in live birth rates between the groups. Women who received real acupuncture, whether or not they were also taking clomiphene, did not have higher chances of having a baby than those who received placebo treatments.
He added that this was one of the largest and most rigorous studies ever done on acupuncture and fertility. The results are not only applicable to Chinese women with PCOS but are also relevant to women worldwide.
A Word of Caution: Study Limitations
Researchers noted one limitation of the trial. The version of acupuncture used in the study did not include other elements of traditional Chinese medicine, such as herbal remedies. This means the study only tested the effect of acupuncture itself and not the full scope of traditional treatments.
Still, the findings deliver a clear message.
Summary
Despite growing interest in acupuncture as a fertility treatment, this large clinical trial shows no added benefit when it comes to helping women with PCOS conceive. Women undergoing fertility treatment should be cautious about relying on acupuncture to improve pregnancy outcomes, especially when evidence from high-quality research does not support its effectiveness.
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