CLINICAL TRIAL article
Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Reproduction
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1665669
This article is part of the Research TopicTraditional Chinese Medicine Strategies for Preventing and Treating Reproductive Endocrine Disorders Caused by Various FactorsView all 13 articles
Acupoint Application Improves IVF Outcomes and Rescues Granulosa Cell Steroid Metabolic Dysregulation in Ovarian Endometriosis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Reproductive Center of Integrated Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China
- 2Binzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, BinZhou, China
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Background and Objective: Ovarian endometriosis (OE) impairs ovarian function and reduces IVF outcomes. This study evaluated whether acupoint application therapy (AAT) improves IVF results and alleviates pain in OE patients. Methods: In this randomized trial, 81 IVF patients were divided into: an OE group receiving medicated AAT (n=27), an OE placebo group (n=26), and a male-factor control group (n=28). Follicular fluid metabolomics and IVF parameters were analyzed. Results: The AAT group required significantly less Gn and shorter stimulation time than the placebo group, and achieved comparable numbers to controls. They also yielded more oocytes, fertilized oocytes, and transferable embryos than the placebo group. The high-quality embryo rate was significantly higher in the AAT group (47.02%) than in both placebo (31.15%) and control (29.05%) groups. Peri-menstrual pain scores decreased more in the AAT group. Metabolomics revealed disrupted steroid biosynthesis in OE, particularly elevated 17α-hydroxyprogesterone, which correlated negatively with oocyte yield. AAT normalized steroid metabolism and reduced oxidative stress. Conclusion: AAT improves IVF outcomes and reduces pain in OE patients, potentially by restoring steroid hormone metabolism and reducing oxidative stress.
Keywords: Endometriosis infertility, Acupoint application therapy, in vitro fertilization - embryo transfer, non-targeted metabolomics, ovarian endometriosis, steroid metabolism, Follicular Fluid
Received: 14 Jul 2025; Accepted: 29 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ai, Sun, Cao, GAO and Cao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zhen-Gao Sun, sunzhengao77@126.com
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