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TREATMENT OF FEMALE INFERTILITY INCORPORATING LOW-REACTIVE LASER THERAPY (LLLT): AN INITIAL REPORT
Abstract
Infertility is a major physiological and psychological problem for women, and can also put strain on the husband-wife relationship. A number of approaches have been developed for the infertile woman with a fertile husband, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and artificial insemination with the husband's (or partner's) sperm (AIH). Although the success rate with these approaches is good, some women remain refractorily infertile. Low incident levels of laser energy, known as low reactive-level laser therapy (LLLT), have been proved useful in a variety of clinical fields, including the enhancement of local blood flow rate and volume. The present study evaluated the adjunctive application of an 830 nm diode LLLT system (60 mW in continuous wave, 5 min/point, approx. 300 J/cm²) in combination with artificial reproductive technology (ART). Twenty-four patients (ages ranging from 30-48 yrs) received LLLT, among whom there were 8 pregnancies (33.3%) and 3 miscarriages (12.5%), with greater efficacy seen in the younger age groups. Of the 24, 19 underwent ICSI plus LLLT with 7 pregnancies (pregnancy rate of 36.8%). On the other hand, in twenty-one ICSI patients during the same period who did not receive LLLT, only 4 pregnancies occurred (pregnancy rate of 19%). However, the series is too small to state definitively that LLLT significantly contributed to improvement in the rate of pregnancy among refractorily infertile women, but based on our experience we feel that LLLT improved the blood supply to the ovum and womb, thereby increasing the pregnancy rate. Furthermore, LLLT is safe, painless, easy to deliver and well tolerated. We will certainly continue using LLLT in infertile women, and larger studies are planned for the future to confirm the interesting results of the present study. © 2006, International Phototherapy Association. All rights reserved.
... [1][2][3][4][5][6] These treatments have also been used to improve the pregnancy rate. [7][8][9][10][11] Infertility treatments increase psychologic stress, and several reports have indicated that acupuncture treatment alleviates emotional distress in infertile women. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18] However, it is unclear if laser acupuncture ameliorates this distress. ...
... Conversely, a 2013 review concluded that acupuncture does not improve the clinical pregnancy rate, ongoing pregnancy rate, live birth rate, or miscarriage rate, regardless of whether needle acupuncture is delivered before or after embryo transfer (ET), or before oocyte collection. 19 With respect to laser acupuncture, several researchers have reported its effect on the pregnancy rate 9,10,20 ; however the treatment's efficacy has not yet been ascertained reliably. ...
... Although the effects of laser acupuncture on pregnancy rates and emotional distress have not been elucidated fully, some reports have suggested that laser acupuncture improves pregnancy rates. 9,10,20 Regarding the effects of laser acupuncture on depression, an RCT by Quah-Smith et al., reported that the therapy was effective for treating mild-to-moderate depression. 6 A later study that Quah-Smith conducted with other researchers suggested that laser acupuncture ameliorated the symptoms of depression significantly. ...
Objectives: Needle and laser acupuncture are often used to improve the success rate of assisted reproductive technology (ART). This study examined whether needle or laser acupuncture ameliorated the emotional distress experienced by infertile women undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Materials and Methods: Fifty-one infertile women who were undergoing IVF-ET or ICSI received needle acupuncture (needle-acupuncture group; n = 32) or laser acupuncture treatment (laser-acupuncture group; n = 19). The emotional distress experienced by the infertile women was evaluated using 2 questionnaires-the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)-both before and after 3 months of treatment. Results: In the needle-acupuncture group, the POMS detected significant post-treatment reductions in tension/anxiety (P < 0.001), depression/dejection (P < 0.001), anger/hostility (P < 0.001), confusion (P < 0.05), and total mood disturbance (TMD; p < 0.001). However, the POMS scores for vigor/activity and fatigue were not altered significantly after the treatment. In the STAI, both State and Trait scores had significantly decreased after the acupuncture (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05, respectively). In the laser-acupuncture group, the POMS detected significantly lower tension/anxiety (P < 0.05) and vigor/activity (P < 0.05) scores after the treatment. However, the POMS did not detect significant changes in depression/dejection, anger/hostility, fatigue, confusion, or TMD after the treatment. Furthermore, neither the STAI-State nor the STAI-Trait score had significantly decreased after the laser acupuncture treatment. Conclusions: These results indicate that needle and laser acupuncture ameliorate the emotional distress experienced by women who are undergoing IVF-ET or ICSI.
... Of the cells in the body, egg cells showed to benefit from red and NIR light therapy more than any other cells due to the processes of mitosis and meiosis, which need a volume of ATP that is essential for reproductive health [74,75]. Hence, in our study, we employed multiwavelength red and NIR PBM light therapy, as it offers various wavelengths corresponding to various photoacceptors, and each wavelength penetrates the skin at a different depth. ...
Background/Objectives: Female infertility due to unexpected causes exhibits a great challenge for both clinicians and women who are trying to conceive. The present clinical case series study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of multiple wavelengths of red and near-infrared (NIR) laser photobiomodulation (PBM) for increasing the potential of fertility in women and improving reproductive health in unexplained infertility issues. The objectives were to assess the following: (1) any adverse effects; (2) the possibility of producing an effective PBM protocol; (3) and healthy live birth. The inclusion criteria were to related to females who failed to conceive naturally beyond two years, multiple miscarriages, molar pregnancy, non-viable embryos from in vitro fertilisation (IVF) cycles, and failure to complete successful implantation of viable pre-implantation genetic tested (PGT-A) embryos. Methods: Case series of three female subjects with unexplained age-related infertility issues, which included a failure to conceive naturally beyond two years, multiple miscarriages, molar pregnancy, non-viable embryos from IVF cycles, and failure to complete successful implantation of viable pre-implantation genetic tested (PGT-A) embryos. In each case, previous conditions were recorded and then compared with outcomes after the patient received a course of PBM treatments. In every case, fertility outcomes improved. Three cases resulted in a full-term pregnancy and the birth of a healthy baby. PBM treatments were given at weekly and/or at two-week intervals using IR and NIR wavelengths between 600 nm and 1000 nm in the lead up to natural conception, IVF oocyte retrieval, blastocyst/embryo implantation, and/or the production of viable embryos. Results: In every case, fertility outcomes improved. Improvements in reproductive health outcomes in each case give reason to suggest that PBM may help to improve unexplained age-related infertility. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that multiwavelength of red and NIR PBM with either an LED or laser, or a combination, improved female fertility and reproductive health and contributed to healthy live births in females diagnosed with unexplained age-related infertility. Extensive studies with robust data are warranted to validate our PBM dosimetry and treatment protocols. Moreover, understanding the genetic and phenotype biomarkers is important to standardise a range of PBM light dosimetry.
... Of the cells in the body, egg cells showed to benefit from red and NIR light therapy more than any other cells due to the processes of mitosis and meiosis, which need a volume of ATP that is essential for reproductive health [74,75]. Hence, in our study, we employed multiwavelength red and NIR PBM light therapy, as it offers various wavelengths corresponding to various photoacceptors, and each wavelength penetrates the skin at a different depth. ...
Background/Objectives: Female infertility due to unexpected causes exhibits a great challenge for both clinicians and women who are trying to conceive. The present clinical case series study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of multiple wavelengths of red and near-infrared (NIR) laser photobiomodulation (PBM) for increasing the potential of fertility in women and improving reproductive health in unexplained infertility issues. The objectives were to assess the following: (1) any adverse effects; (2) the possibility of producing an effective PBM protocol; (3) and healthy live birth. The inclusion criteria were to related to females who failed to conceive naturally beyond two years, multiple miscarriages, molar pregnancy, non-viable embryos from in vitro fertilisation (IVF) cycles, and failure to complete successful implantation of viable pre-implantation genetic tested (PGT-A) embryos. Methods: Case series of three female subjects with unexplained age-related infertility issues, which included a failure to conceive naturally beyond two years, multiple miscarriages, molar pregnancy, non-viable embryos from IVF cycles, and failure to complete successful implantation of viable pre-implantation genetic tested (PGT-A) embryos. In each case, previous conditions were recorded and then compared with outcomes after the patient received a course of PBM treatments. In every case, fertility outcomes improved. Three cases resulted in a full-term pregnancy and the birth of a healthy baby. PBM treatments were given at weekly and/or at two-week intervals using IR and NIR wavelengths between 600 nm and 1000 nm in the lead up to natural conception, IVF oocyte retrieval, blastocyst/embryo implantation, and/or the production of viable embryos. Results: In every case, fertility outcomes improved. Improvements in reproductive health outcomes in each case give reason to suggest that PBM may help to improve unexplained age-related infertility. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that multiwavelength of red and NIR PBM with either an LED or laser, or a combination, improved female fertility and reproductive health and contributed to healthy live births in females diagnosed with unexplained age-related infertility. Extensive studies with robust data are warranted to validate our PBM dosimetry and treatment protocols. Moreover, understanding the genetic and phenotype biomarkers is important to standardise a range of PBM light dosimetry.
... Ac- cordingly, this preliminary experiment was suspended at our clinic. Several studies attempted to improve blood flow in the body, including that in the ovary, using herbal medicine [15,16], LLLT [18,33] or acupuncture [19]. Iwahata et al. [33] reported a significantly higher preg- nancy rate with ICSI-LLLT than ICSI alone. ...
Maternal age is a significant factor in infertility treatment. Ovarian function and oocyte quality decrease with age, whereas the frequency of chromosomal abnormalities increases. In this study, improvement of oocyte quality and ovarian function were attempted using a herbal medicine comprising 7 crude drugs:Angelicae radix,Rehmanniae radix,Plantaginis semen,Lonicerae flos,Carthami flos,Ginseng radix, andCucurbita moschata Duch. Thirty-one women who repeatedly failed to conceive by intracytoplasmic sperm injection took the herbal medicine before breakfast and dinner from the start of menstrual cycle in the ovum pickup cycle. Average patient age was 38.5 ± 0.7 years, and the average ovum pickup frequency on the first dosage day was 7.9 ± 1.5. To analyze the effects of herbal medicine intake, the number of recovered and mature oocytes, their morphology and physical qualities, as well as the rates of fertilization, oocyte development, and pregnancy was compared before and after intake. The recovered and mature oocyte numbers, oocyte morphology and physical qualities, and fertilization rate were not significantly different before and after drug intake. However, the oocyte development rate was significantly higher(58.0%) after herbal medicine intake than before (32.5%; p = 0.0003). Moreover, the successful pregnancy rate was significantly higher after intake than before (6.9% versus 0%; p = 0.0111). Herbal medicine may constitute a useful adjunct to assisted reproductive technology in women.
Der japanische Arzt Toshio Ohshiro war der Erste, der 1995 die fruchtbarkeitsfördernde Wirkung der Lasertherapie entdeckte und diesen Effekt durch die Sammlung einer großen Datenmenge dokumentierte. Aus der Grundlagenforschung wissen wir, dass Lasertherapie erstens die Menge an Energie in den Zellen erhöht, zweitens die Blutzirkulation verbessert und drittens eine entzündungshemmende Wirkung hat. Gerade diese drei Eigenschaften sind für die Fertilität relevant. Besonders für Frauen mit altersbedingter Unfruchtbarkeit spielt die Menge an Energie in den Eizellen eine bedeutende Rolle, weil das ATP, das in den Mitochondrien der Eizellen produziert wird, mit dem Alter abnimmt. Wenn die Menge an ATP in den Eizellen abnimmt, bekommt das Ei nicht genügend Energie für (Bartmann et al. (2004), Why do older women have poor implantation rates? A possible role of the mitochondria. J Assist Reprod Genet 21:79–83) die Zellteilung und (Conderelli et al. (2017) Chronic prostatitis and its detrimental impact on sperm parameters: a systematic review and meta analysis. J Endocrinol Invest 40:1209–1218) die Zellmigration – also für die lange Reise von den Eierstöcken zur Gebärmutter, um sich dort (El Faham et al. (2018) Has the time come to include low-level laser photobiomodulation as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of impaired endometrial receptivity? Lasers Med Sci 5:1105–1114) im Endometrium festzusetzen (Zelladhäsion). Auch für Männer mit niedriger Spermienqualität scheint Lasertherapie einen positiven Effekt zu haben.
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