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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2023 Sep 8;102(36):e34768.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000034768.

The role of acupuncture in women with advanced reproductive age undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer: A randomized controlled trial and follicular fluid metabolomics study

Qingchang Xia  1 , Lingyu Yu  2 , Jingyan Song  3 , Zhengao Sun  4
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

The role of acupuncture in women with advanced reproductive age undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer: A randomized controlled trial and follicular fluid metabolomics study

Qingchang Xia et al. Medicine (Baltimore). .

Abstract

Background: The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of acupuncture on the outcome of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in elderly infertile patients with kidney qi deficiency, and to explore its possible mechanism from the perspective of pseudo-targeted metabolomics of follicular fluid.

Methods: Sixty cases of elderly women undergoing IVF were sampled and randomly divided into 2 equal groups: the treatment and the elderly control (HA) group. In the treatment group, routine ovulation induction combined with acupuncture treatment was used. Routine ovulation induction combined with sham acupuncture was used in the HA group. Reproductive outcomes of the 2 groups were compared. The follicular fluid of patients obtained on the day of oocyte retrieval was analyzed by the ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis system.

Results: Compared with the HA group, the score of kidney qi deficiency syndrome in the treatment group was significantly decreased, and the 2 PN fertilization rate, high-quality embryo rate and cumulative pregnancy rate were significantly increased (P < .05). Through the identification of target metabolites, 3 metabolic pathways were found to be closely related to the developmental potential of oocytes, namely: Retinol metabolism pathway; Glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism pathway; Glycerophospholipid metabolism pathway.

Conclusion: From our findings, acupuncture can improve the quality of oocytes thus bettering the outcome of IVF-assisted pregnancy in elderly patients with kidney qi deficiency.

Trial registration: ChiCTR1800018329.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Heat maps of related metabolites of treatment group, HA group and control group. HA = elderly control.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
PLS-DA scores plot of treatment group, HA group and control group. HA = elderly control.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
The VIP score diagram of treatment group, HA group and control group. HA = elderly control.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Box diagrams of different metabolites in treatment group, HA group and control group. HA = elderly control.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Metabolic pathway analysis diagram of treatment, HA and control groups. HA = elderly control.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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