Hence, it is critical that toxicologists in industry, regulatory agencies and academic institutions develop a consensus, based on rigorous methods, about the reliability and interpretation of endpoints. It will also be important to regulate the integration of conventional methods for toxicity assessments with new "omics" technologies.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has significant advantages in treating gynaecological disorders. The paper has provided a brief introduction on the current progress of treating some gynaecological disorders including endometriosis, infertility, dysmenorrhea, abnormal uterine bleeding, premenstrual syndrome, menopausal syndrome, uterine fibroids, chronic pelvic inflammation, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), cervicitis and vaginitis with Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) and acupuncture. The use of TCM in the field of assisted reproductive techniques (ART) has also been included in the review. In addition, thirty-two commonly used Chinese medicinal formulas in treating gynaecological disorders have been introduced.

TEAS using a frequency of 2/100Hz could help to improve the IVF outcomes partly by increasing NPY levels in the follicular fluids.

In the last decades, cases of poisoning due to herbal medicines have occurred in many countries; Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) are occasionally involved. The experience gained from traditional use is efficient to detect immediate or near-immediate relationship between administration and toxic effects but is quite unlikely to detect medium- to long-term toxicities; thorough investigations of herbal medicines (toxicity assessments, active pharmacovigilance) appear then essential for their safe use. Genotoxicity is an especially insidious toxicity that may result in carcinoma development years after exposure; it can arise from multiple compounds, with or without metabolic activation. The present work reviews traditional CHMs and phytochemicals that have been shown to present a genotoxic hazard.

To study the efficacy of electro-acupuncture for the relief of labor pain, and to build a better understanding of how electro-acupuncture might influence the neuroendocrine system, 36 primiparas were randomly divided into an electro-acupuncture group and a control group. Assessments of pain intensity and degree of relaxation during labor were analyzed. The differences between the electro-acupuncture group and the control group on the concentration of β-endorphin (β-EP) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in the peripheral blood were compared. The electro-acupuncture group was found to exhibit a lower pain intensity and a better degree of relaxation than the control group (p = 0.018; p = 0.031). There existed a significant difference in the concentration of β-EP and 5-HT in the peripheral blood between the two groups at the end of the first stage (p = 0.037; p = 0.030). Electro-acupuncture was found to be an effective alternative or complementary therapy in the relief of pain during labor. The benefit of electro-acupuncture for relieving labor pain may be based on the mechanism of producing a synergism of the central nervous system (CNS) with a direct impact on the uterus through increasing the release of β-EP and 5-HT into the peripheral blood.