Acupuncture, Human Infertility and Clinical Trials: Summary
As I undertook research focused on determining what kinds of clinical trials examining the effectiveness of various acupuncture treatments with respect to human infertility, I was immediately struck by the array of interesting and relevant studies that had been undertaken, particularly those that considered the feasibility of acupuncture as an alternative or adjunct to other therapeutic interventions. The problem of human infertility, male or female, seems to be particularly amenable to amelioration via acupuncture and what are called "alternative" or non-Western medical treatments. From the perspective of Oriental (i.e., no-Western) medical theory and practice, I learned that human infertility is traced to malfunctions of, for example, the kidney or other sources of life forces.
The clinical trials and studies reviewed as part of the research effect were structured, for the most part, to conform to ethical standards regarding informed consent, avoidance of harm, and use of proper counseling and advisory protocols. Many studies compared and contrasted infertility treatment regimes that contained control groups, which permitted the researchers to specifically consider the relative merits of acupuncture. By comparing various interventions targeting male or female infertility, these studies assume a relevance that would be absent had they not examined alternative approaches to the problem. It found it interesting that many studies concluded that acupuncture treatment is an excellent augmentation or adjunct to Western treatments.
There is, in any clinical trial, a certain nobility of purpose that any researcher such as myself is continually aware of. AT the core of medical research efforts is a strong desire to develop a treatment regimen or intervention that improves the health and well-being of patients; this is an inherently noble purpose for research, and t...