ACUPUNCTURE MAY IMPROVE SPERM QUALITY.

According to a prospective study reported in the July issue of Fertility and Sterility, acupuncture may improve sperm quality in idiopathic male infertility. Of the 40 men in the study, 28 received acupuncture twice weekly for five weeks. Their semen samples were then randomized with semen samples from the 12 men in the untreated control group. The results showed a positive effect on sperm concentration and motility, an increase in testosterone, and some improvement in luteinizing hormone level. The author of the study, Jian Pei, PhD, from Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine writes, “These studies have also shown an increase of normally shaped sperm and a significant decrease in the percentage of morphologically abnormal sperm. The treatment of idiopathic male infertility could benefit from employing acupuncture.” (Laurie Barclay, MD, “Acupuncture May Improve Sperm Quality,” Medscape Medical News, July 25, 2005, <http://www.medscape .com/viewarticle/508885_print> (July 29, 2005)).