Effect of Acupuncture on Vascular Biomarkers and Psychological Well-Being of Women Undergoing IVF

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Infertility

In brief

Experimental Approach: (1) Participants: Women (ages 21 to 42) who seek IVF treatment at the Center for Fertility \& Reproductive Surgery will be eligible for the study. Seventy women will be recruited and randomly assigned to either the intervention (acupuncture plus standard care) or the comparison (standard care alone) group. (2) Intervention: Participants in the intervention group will receive 3 acupuncture sessions during the project with the first treatment between day 6-8 of the stimulated IVF cycle, second on the day of embryo transfer and the third one day post transfer. Participants in the comparison group will receive no intervention but will receive standard care. (3) Measures: The primary outcome measures include prostacyclin and thromboxane vasoactive biomarkers. Secondary outcome measures include perceived stress levels. (4) Procedure: Upon IRB approval, an informed consent will be provided to all participants. Pre- and post- acupuncture urinary metabolites of prostacyclin and thromboxane will be assessed. A standardized Perceived Stress Scale will be administered before and after each acupuncture session for the study group, and before and after a 30-40-minute waiting period for the control group.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT02591186

Run by

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

People needed

60

Starts

2015-11-01

Expected to finish

2020-09-01

Last updated by the study team

2020-09-16

Who can join

Age: 21 and older, up to 42. Sex: female. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Women between ages 21-42 years seeking IVF.
• Willing to undergo acupuncture
• No contraindications to needle insertion.

You may not qualify if…

• Women currently using alternative therapies such as acupressure, herbal supplements and meditation techniques.
• Women with generalized psoriasis, neuropathy or coagulopathies posing increased risk due to needle insertion.
• Women with previous experience with acupuncture.
• **Please note that we are unable to give a discount on IVF cost for participating in the study.***

Where it is running

• Texas Tech Health Science Center — Lubbock, Texas, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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