Traditional Chinese Medicine and Infertility - Part II

Written by Dr. Mike Berkley


INFERTILITY AND TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE PART II

In Part I, we consideredrepparttar proper treatment methods of Traditional Chinese Medicine and The Four Examinations,which date back over three thousand years.

In this section, we will look atrepparttar 114550 mechanisms of action of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

It was shown in a study done at Harvard that stress reducesrepparttar 114551 hypothalamic-anterior pituitary-ovarian axis function, thus being a factor to be considered inrepparttar 114552 infertility work-up. Acupuncture releases endorphins which mitigate ones response to stressful stimuli thus enhancingrepparttar 114553 possibility for conception.

"Historically, infertility, particularly "functional" infertility, was attributed to abnormal psychological functioning onrepparttar 114554 part of one or both members ofrepparttar 114555 couple. Preliminary works inrepparttar 114556 1940s and 1950s considered "psychogenic infertility" asrepparttar 114557 major cause of failure to conceive in as many as 50% of cases. As recently asrepparttar 114558 late 1960s, it was commonly believed that reproductive failure wasrepparttar 114559 result of psychological and emotional factors. Psychogenic infertility was supposed to occur because of unconscious anxiety about sexual feelings, ambivalence toward motherhood, unresolved oedipal conflict, or conflicts of gender identity. Fortunately, advances in reproductive endocrinology and medical technology as well as in psychological research have de-emphasizedrepparttar 114560 significance of psychopathology asrepparttar 114561 basis of infertility, and modern research shows that there is little evidence to support a role for personality factors or conflicts as a cause of infertility. This perspective unburdensrepparttar 114562 couple by relieving them ofrepparttar 114563 additional guilt of thinking that it is their mental stress that may be responsible for their infertility.

Biologically, sincerepparttar 114564 hypothalamus regulates both stress responses as well asrepparttar 114565 sex hormones, it's easy to see how stress could cause infertility in some women. Excessive stress may even lead to complete suppression ofrepparttar 114566 menstrual cycle, and this is often seen in female marathon runners, who develop "runner's amenorrhea". In less severe cases, it could cause anovulation or irregular menstrual cycles. When activated by stress,repparttar 114567 pituitary gland also produces increased amounts of prolactin, and elevated levels of prolactin could cause irregular ovulation. Sincerepparttar 114568 female reproductive tract contains catecholamine receptors catecholamines produced in response to stress may potentially affect fertility, for example, by interfering withrepparttar 114569 transport of gametes throughrepparttar 114570 Fallopian tube or by altering uterine blood flow. However, more complex mechanisms may be at play, and researchers still don't completely understand how stress interacts withrepparttar 114571 reproductive system. This is a story, which is still unfolding, and duringrepparttar 114572 last 20 years,repparttar 114573 new field of psychoneuroimmunology has emerged, which focuses on how your mind can affect your body.

Research has shown thatrepparttar 114574 brain produces special molecules called neuropeptides, in response to emotions, and these peptides can interact with every cell ofrepparttar 114575 body, including those ofrepparttar 114576 immune system. In this view,repparttar 114577 mind andrepparttar 114578 body are not only connected, but also inseparable, so that it is hardly surprising that stress can have a negative influence on fertility.

Stress can reduce sperm counts as well. Thus, testicular biopsies obtained from prisoners awaiting execution, who were obviously under extreme stress, revealed complete spermatogenetic arrest in all cases. Researchers have also showed significantly lower semen volume and sperm concentration in a group of chronically stressed marmoset monkey, and these changes were attributed to lower concentrations of LH and testosterone (which were reduced inrepparttar 114579 stressed group). However, how relevant these research findings are in clinical practice is still to be determined."

Traditional Chinese Medicine and Infertility - Part III

Written by Dr. Mike Berkley


TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE AND INFERTILITY - PART III

Inrepparttar beginning sections of this article, we consideredrepparttar 114549 proper treatment methods of Traditional Chinese Medicine and The Four Examaminations, a method of diagnosis that dates back over three thousand years. We also looked atrepparttar 114550 mechanisms of action with TCM and accupuncture.

In this final section we will considerrepparttar 114551 combined diagnostics of Eastern and Western Medicine along withrepparttar 114552 uses of herbal medicine inrepparttar 114553 treatment of infertility.

A DIAGNOSTIC WINDOW - EAST MEETS WEST

One TCM diagnosis which exists and which may be etiologic for male or female infertility is called Liver qi stagnation. One ofrepparttar 114554 key identifiers of an individual withrepparttar 114555 pattern differentiation of Liver qi stagnation is anger, rage, frustration, depression and anxiety.

"Symptoms of depression, anxiety, and anger may help in determiningrepparttar 114556 nature of infertility experienced by some couples, and identify those who would benefit most from psychological counseling, suggest researchers.

Dr. Secondo Fassino (University School of Medicine, Turin, Italy) and colleagues recordedrepparttar 114557 personal characteristics of 156 infertile and 80 fertile couples, and measured their degree of psychopathology. Whenrepparttar 114558 researchers dividedrepparttar 114559 couples according torepparttar 114560 nature ofrepparttar 114561 infertility-organic, functional, or undetermined-they found thatrepparttar 114562 triad of anxiety, depression, and a tendency toward anger suppression successfully predictedrepparttar 114563 diagnosis of organic or functional infertility in women, with 97 percent accuracy.

For infertile men, anxiety was also an important independent predictor of functional infertility, increasingrepparttar 114564 likelihood of having this form of infertility five-fold, while depression was more predictive of organic infertility. However, with men - unlike women - anger did not appear to influence infertility in men.

The results suggestrepparttar 114565 possibility of identifying a subgroup of infertile subjects where, beyondrepparttar 114566 distress that is consequent torepparttar 114567 failure of repeated attempts to conceive a baby, there is also a poorly adaptive psychological functioning, which is likely to play an important role inrepparttar 114568 onset and course of functional infertility,"repparttar 114569 team concludes.”

It is becoming more and more prevalent that research conducted by Western scientists and physicians are highlightingrepparttar 114570 veracity and effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

HERBAL MEDICINE

The efficacy of herbal medicine in treating infertility is indisputable torepparttar 114571 patient community althoughrepparttar 114572 mechanism of action is not completely understood at this time. Similarlyrepparttar 114573 mechanism of action of tricyclic antidepressants is not fully understood in its effect on chronic pain (i.e., inrepparttar 114574 case of fibromyalgia), but its efficacy has been maintained.

Practitioners of Chinese herbal medicine rarely use a single herb in treatment. Chinese herbs are formula based; many herbs are mixed together to createrepparttar 114575 perfect 'decoction' specifically designed forrepparttar 114576 individual patient.

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