A single-arm pilot study on effects of acupuncture treatment on semen parameters of subfertile Singaporean men

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of acupuncture treatment on semen parameters and the proportion of mature and functional sperm as measured by using sperm-hyaluronan binding assay (HBA) in subfertile Singapore men.MethodsSingaporean male subjects undergoing subfertility investigation were enrolled prospectively in this pilot study. Each subject received acupuncture treatment at fixed acupoints and two acupuncture sessions per week for 10 weeks. A total of five semen samples were obtained from each subject at 5 weekly intervals up to 20 weeks of the study; at Pre-treatment, Treatment 1 (5th week), Treatment 2 (10th week), Post-treatment 1 (15th week) and Post-treatment 2 (20th week). Semen analysis was performed to assess semen parameters and HBA score (percentage of motile sperm bound to hyaluronan) to determine the proportion of mature and functional sperm.ResultsMean HBA scores improved significantly from 12.0% at Pre-treatment, to 18.4% (P = 0.03) at 5th week and was 16.8% (P = 0.07) at 10th week of acupuncture treatment. After completion of acupuncture treatment, HBA scores continued to increase significantly to 25.8% (P < 0.001) at Post-treatment 1. At Post-treatment 2, HBA scores decreased to 16.3%. Sperm concentration showed similar trend but it was not statistically significant. Other semen parameters remained unchanged throughout the study period.ConclusionsHBA scores increased significantly during the first 5 weeks of acupuncture treatment (Treatment 1) and 5 weeks after the completion of treatment (Post-treatment 1). Hence acupuncture treatment was effective in increasing the proportion of mature and functional sperm but had no effect on other semen parameters.