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Study
Indicates acupuncture may increase sperm quantity, quality and
increase testosterone.
A new study from China shows that acupuncture may improve sperm quality
in idiopathic male infertility.
http://www.nycacupuncture.com/

In the July issue of Fertility and Sterility (Fertil
Steril. 2005;84:141-147), the chief investigator, Jian Pei, PhD,
from Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the
People's Republic of China, noted that acupuncture had a positive
effect on sperm concentration and motility, an increase in testosterone,
and some improvement in luteinizing hormone (LH) level, as well
as an increase of normally shaped sperm and a significant decrease
in the percentage of morphologically abnormal sperm.
The study consisted of 40 men with unexplained sperm abnormalities (oligospermia,
asthenospermia, or teratozoospermia). 28 of the men (70%) received acupuncture
twice weekly for five weeks. The semen samples from both groups were quantitatively
analysed by transmission electron microscopy.
After acupuncture, there was a statistically significant increase in the percentage
and number of sperm, and improvement in overall morphology of the sperm without
defects seen in the total ejaculates. Specific sperm pathologies in the form
of apoptosis, immaturity, and necrosis did not change significantly between the
control and treatment groups before and after treatment.
"The treatment of idiopathic male infertility could benefit from employing
acupuncture," the authors write. "A general improvement of sperm quality,
specifically in the ultrastructural integrity of spermatozoa, was seen after
acupuncture, although we did not identify specific sperm pathologies that could
be particularly sensitive to this therapy."
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