Success of acupuncture treatment in patients with initially low sperm output is associated with a decrease in scrotal skin temperature

Abstract

Poor spermatogenesis in patients with inflammation of the genital tract is associated with scrotal hyperthermia. These patients can benefit from acupuncture treatment. We conducted a study to verify whether the influence of acupuncture treatment on sperm output in patients with low sperm density is associated with a decrease in scrotal temperature. The experimental group included 39 men who were referred for acupuncture owing to low sperm output. The control group, which comprised 18 normal fertile men, was used to define a threshold (30.5 degrees C) above which scrotal skin temperature was considered to be high. Accordingly, 34 of the 39 participants in the experimental group initially had high scrotal skin temperature; the other five had normal values. Scrotal skin temperature and sperm concentration were measured before and after acupuncture treatment. The five patients with initially normal scrotal temperatures were not affected by the acupuncture treatment. Following treatment, 17 of the 34 patients with hyperthermia, all of whom had genital tract inflammation, had normal scrotal skin temperature; in 15 of these 17 patients, sperm count was increased. In the remaining 17 men with scrotal hyperthermia, neither scrotal skin temperature nor sperm concentration was affected by the treatment. About 90% of the latter patients suffered from high gonadotropins or mixed etiological factors. Low sperm count in patients with inflammation of the genital tract seems to be associated with scrotal hyperthermia, and, consequently, acupuncture treatment is recommended for these men.

Protection from scrotal hyperthermia in laptop computer users

“…Scrotal temperature in infertile men is significantly higher than that observed in fertile men (14,30). Scrotal hyperthermia was shown to be associated with more or less severely impaired semen quality in men, including azoospermia, oligoasthenospermia, and teratozoospermia (6,14,(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35). Conversely, scrotal cooling improved sperm quantity and quality (36)(37)(38)(39).…”

Extent of acupuncture practice for infertility in the United Kingdom: experiences and perceptions of the practitioners

“…Improvements in sperm quality have been noted in several small controlled trials (25)(26)(27). Research suggests that acupuncture increases sperm output where scrotal temperatures are high and genital tracts inflamed (28). Patient (29,30) and practitioner (30) experiences of acupuncture fertility treatment were positive in two small studies.…”

Eastern Medicine Approaches to Male Infertility

“…There is some evidence of improvement in sperm quality when acupuncture is performed on males with abnormal semen parameters, and the incidence of side effects is low. [16][17][18] Zhang et al 19 investigated 22 men with abnormal semen parameters who failed in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and were treated with acupuncture twice weekly for 8 weeks, followed by ICSI treatment again. There was no significant difference in sperm concentration and sperm motility between before and after acupuncture.…”

“…31 A pilot trial included 39 men who were referred for acupuncture owing to low sperm count related to high scrotal skin temperature. 17 In accordance with the principles of traditional acupuncture and syndrome diagnosis, acupuncture points appropriate for the deficiency of the kidneys (hormonal imbalance) and damp-heat syndromes (inflammation of the genital tract) were selected. Following acupuncture treatment, sperm count was increased in 15 out of these 17 patients.…”