human
***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in assisted reproduction therapy ( ART ) by comparing a group of patients receiving acupuncture treatment shortly before and after embryo transfer with a control group receiving no acupuncture . DESIGN Prospect i ve r and omized study . SETTING Fertility center . PATIENT(S ) After giving informed consent , 160 patients who were undergoing ART and who had good quality embryos were divided into the following two groups through r and om selection : embryo transfer with acupuncture ( n = 80 ) and embryo transfer without acupuncture ( n = 80 ) . INTERVENTION(S ) Acupuncture was performed in 80 patients 25 minutes before and after embryo transfer . In the control group , embryos were transferred without any supportive therapy . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S ) Clinical pregnancy was defined as the presence of a fetal sac during an ultrasound examination 6 weeks after embryo transfer . RESULT ( S ) Clinical pregnancies were documented in 34 of 80 patients ( 42.5 % ) in the acupuncture group , whereas pregnancy rate was only 26.3 % ( 21 out of 80 patients ) in the control group . CONCLUSION ( S ) Acupuncture seems to be a useful tool for improving pregnancy rate after ART OBJECTIVE To replicate previous research on the efficacy of acupuncture in increasing pregnancy rates ( PR ) in patients undergoing IVF and to determine whether such an increase was due to a placebo effect . DESIGN Prospect i ve , r and omized , controlled , single blind trial . SETTING Private , academically affiliated , infertility clinic . PATIENT(S ) One hundred fifty patients scheduled to undergo embryo transfer . INTERVENTION(S ) Subjects were r and omized to either the acupuncture or control group . Acupuncture patients received the protocol , as first described by Paulus and his colleagues , for 25 minutes before and after embryo transfer . Control subjects laid quietly . All subjects then completed question naires on anxiety and optimism . The IVF staff remained blind to subject assignment . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S ) Clinical PRs , anxiety , optimism . RESULT ( S ) Before r and omization both groups had similar demographic characteristics including age and psychological variables . There were no significant differences in PRs between the two groups . Acupuncture patients reported significantly less anxiety post-transfer and reported feeling more optimistic about their cycle and enjoyed their sessions more than the control subjects . CONCLUSION ( S ) The use of acupuncture in patients undergoing IVF was not associated with an increase in PRs but they were more relaxed and more optimistic BACKGROUND In a previous study on the effect of electro-acupuncture ( EA ) in combination with a paracervical block ( PCB ) as an analgesic method during oocyte aspiration in IVF treatment , EA appeared to increase the pregnancy rate . This study was design ed to test the hypothesis that EA as an analgesic during oocyte aspiration would result in : ( i ) a better IVF pregnancy rate than with alfentanil ; ( ii ) peroperative analgesia that was as good as that produced by alfentanil ; ( iii ) less postoperative abdominal pain , nausea and stress ; and ( iv ) a reduction in the use of additional analgesics . Neuropeptide Y ( NPY ) concentrations in follicular fluid ( FF ) were analysed when possible . METHODS AND RESULTS In this prospect i ve , r and omized , multicentre clinical trial , 286 women undergoing oocyte aspiration were r and omly allocated to the EA group ( EA plus a PCB ) or to the alfentanil group ( alfentanil plus a PCB ) . No significant differences were found between the EA and alfentanil groups in any of the IVF variables . NPY concentrations in FF were significantly higher in the EA group compared with the alfentanil group . No correlation between pregnancy rate and NPY concentrations was found in either analgesic group . Both EA plus a PCB and alfentanil plus a PCB induced adequate peroperative analgesia during oocyte aspiration evaluated using the visual analogue scale . After 2 h , the EA group reported significantly less abdominal pain , other pain , nausea and stress than the alfentanil group . In addition , the EA group received significantly lower amounts of additional alfentanil than the alfentanil group . CONCLUSION EA does not improve pregnancy rate in the present clinical situation . The observation that NPY concentrations in FF were higher in the EA group may be important for human ovarian steroidogenesis . The analgesic effects produced by EA are as good as those produced by conventional analgesics , and the use of opiate analgesics with EA is lower than when conventional analgesics alone are used OBJECTIVE To evaluate the influence of " true " versus " sham " acupuncture on pregnancy rates ( PRs ) in women undergoing IVF . DESIGN R and omized controlled trial , double-blinded with independent observer . SETTING Academic infertility clinic . PATIENT(S ) One hundred sixty patients < 38 years old undergoing IVF with or without intracytoplasmic sperm injection . INTERVENTION(S ) Subjects were r and omly allocated to the true or sham group and underwent acupuncture 25 minutes before and after ET . Subjects completed a McGill Pain Question naire regarding their clinical symptoms during ET . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S ) Clinical PR and clinical symptoms during ET . RESULT ( S ) While the overall clinical PR was 51.25 % , there was no significant difference between the arms of the study ( true = 45.3 % vs. sham = 52.7 % ) ; 33.1 % of the patients had ultrasound-documented singleton pregnancy , and 15 % of patients had twin gestations , while one patient in the true arm had a triplet gestation . There were significant differences in the subjective , affective , and total pain experience between both arms . The subjects in the true arm described their acupuncture session as being more " tiring " and " fearful " and experienced more " achiness " compared with their sham counterparts . CONCLUSION ( S ) There was no statistically significant difference in the clinical or chemical PRs between both groups . Patients undergoing true acupuncture had differing sensory experiences compared with patients in the sham arm . There were no significant adverse effects observed during the study , suggesting that acupuncture is safe for women undergoing ET OBJECTIVE To determine the effect of luteal-phase acupuncture on the outcome of  IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection ( ICSI ) . DESIGN R and omized , prospect i ve , controlled clinical study . SETTING University IVF center . PATIENT(S ) Two hundred twenty-five infertile patients undergoing IVF/ICSI . INTERVENTION(S ) In group I , 116 patients received luteal-phase acupuncture according to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine . In group II , 109 patients received placebo acupuncture . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S ) Clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates . RESULT ( S ) In group I , the clinical pregnancy rate and ongoing pregnancy rate ( 33.6 % and 28.4 % , respectively ) were significantly higher than in group II ( 15.6 % and 13.8 % ) . CONCLUSION ( S ) Luteal-phase acupuncture has a positive effect on the outcome of IVF/ICSI Background Acupuncture has recently been used as a complementary technique in the management of infertility . It has physiological and psychological effects and may be considered an alternative for stress reduction in women undergoing infertility treatments . Objective To examine the hypothesis that acupuncture treatment may increase the pregnancy rate in patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles . Methods Patients enrolled in the study were stratified according to age and r and omised to either a control group ( n=208 ) or acupuncture group , ( n=208 ) . The pregnancy , implantation and abortion rates of the two groups were compared . Results No influence of acupuncture treatment on clinical outcomes was seen ; however , when cycles in which the causes of infertility were exclusively tubal-uterine or idiopathic were evaluated separately , a positive influence of acupuncture on pregnancy ( OR=5.15 , 95 % CI 1.03 to 34.5 ; p=0.048 ) was noted . Moreover , trends toward an increase in implantation were seen when acupuncture was performed ( regression coefficient : 0.645 ; p=0.092 ) . Conclusion The results suggest that acupuncture treatment had no influence when performed immediately before and immediately after embryo transfer , on clinical outcomes overall . In a subgroup analysis , when the embryo was not affected by an ovarian or seminal influence , a benefit was noted OBJECTIVE To observe the impacts of electroacupuncture ( EA ) on oocyte quality and pregnant outcome for the patients with polycystic ovary syndrome ( PCOS ) undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer ( IVF-ET ) and explore its potential mechanism . METHODS Sixty-six patients with PCOS and undergoing IVF-ET were divided into two groups r and omly , including an observation group ( 34 cases ) and a control group ( 32 cases ) . Ethinylestradiol and cyproterone acetate tablets and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist were administered for long-program superovulation in either group . In observation group , the intervention of EA was applied to Guanyuan ( CV 4 ) , Zhongji ( CV 3 ) , Sanyinjiao ( SP 6 ) , Zigong ( EX-CA 1 ) and Taixi ( KI 3 ) additionally . The pregnant outcome and the levels of stem cell factor ( SCF ) in the serum and follicular fluid on the day of egg collection were compared between two groups . RESULTS The score of kidney deficiency symptoms reduced remarkably after treatment in either group and the improvement in observation group was superior to that in control group ( P < 0.01 ) . The fertilization rate [ ( 76.25 + /- 20.33)% vs ( 66.34 + /- 15.44)% ] , cleavage rate [ ( 98.66 + /- 3.70)% vs ( 94.47 + /- 9.45)% ] and the rate of high- quality embryos [ ( 60.20 + /- 22.20)% vs ( 50.55 + /- 16.15)% ] in observation group were all superior to those in control group separately ( all P < 0.05 ) . Clinical pregnancy rate ( 46.67 % , 14/30 ) in observation group was higher than that ( 37.93 % , 11/29 ) in control group , but without statistical difference ( P > 0.05 ) . SCF levels in the serum and follicular fluid on the day of ovary collection were higher obviously than those in control group ( all P < 0.05 ) . CONCLUSION Electroacupuncture plays an active role in the pregnant outcomes of PCOS patients undergoing IVF-ET and it can relieve the symptoms of kidney deficiency in terms of TCM and improve clinical pregnant rate . The results are relevant with the overall adjustment of organic endocrinal system and the local micro-environment of ovary and the improvement of oocyte quality through the up-regulation of SCF level in mechanism The role of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate has not been evaluated in frozen-thawed embryo transfer ( FET ) cycles . This r and omized double-blind study aim ed to determine whether acupuncture performed on the day of FET improves clinical outcomes . On the day of FET , 226 patients were r and omly allocated to either real or placebo acupuncture according to a computer-generated r and omization list in sealed opaque envelopes . They received a session of real or placebo acupuncture for 25 min on site immediately after FET . The anxiety level and serum cortisol concentration were evaluated before and after real and placebo acupuncture . There were no significant differences in rates of overall pregnancy , clinical pregnancy , ongoing pregnancy , live birth and implantation in the placebo acupuncture group , when compared with the real acupuncture group . The anxiety level and serum cortisol concentration were similar for both groups . Only the placebo acupuncture group had significantly higher ongoing pregnancy ( P=0.022 ) and implantation rates ( P=0.038 ) than those who declined to join the study and received no acupuncture . In conclusion , comparable pregnancy and live birth rates of FET treatment were found in patients who had one session of real or placebo acupuncture after FET BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to compare the pain-relieving effect and the subjective well-being between auricular electro-acupuncture ( EA ) analgesia , auricular acupuncture ( A ) and conventional analgesia with remifentanil ( CO ) . METHODS A total of 94 women undergoing IVF were r and omized to auricular acupuncture with ( EA , n = 32 ) or without ( A , n = 32 ) continuous 1 Hz auricular stimulation ( using a battery-powered miniaturized stimulator , P-Stim ) or with adhesive tapes instead of needles and no electrical stimulation ( control group , CO , n = 30 ) at the auricular acupuncture points 29 , 55 and 57 . All patients received patient-controlled analgesia ( PCA ) with remifentanil .  Pain intensity and psychological well-being were assessed by means of visual analogue scales ( VAS ) ; tiredness , nausea and vomiting and analgesic drug consumption were documented . R 
    Output:
    
agent
***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in assisted reproduction therapy ( ART ) by comparing a group of patients receiving acupuncture treatment shortly before and after embryo transfer with a control group receiving no acupuncture . DESIGN Prospect i ve r and omized study . SETTING Fertility center . PATIENT(S ) After giving informed consent , 160 patients who were undergoing ART and who had good quality embryos were divided into the following two groups through r and om selection : embryo transfer with acupuncture ( n = 80 ) and embryo transfer without acupuncture ( n = 80 ) . INTERVENTION(S ) Acupuncture was performed in 80 patients 25 minutes before and after embryo transfer . In the control group , embryos were transferred without any supportive therapy . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S ) Clinical pregnancy was defined as the presence of a fetal sac during an ultrasound examination 6 weeks after embryo transfer . RESULT ( S ) Clinical pregnancies were documented in 34 of 80 patients ( 42.5 % ) in the acupuncture group , whereas pregnancy rate was only 26.3 % ( 21 out of 80 patients ) in the control group . CONCLUSION ( S ) Acupuncture seems to be a useful tool for improving pregnancy rate after ART OBJECTIVE To replicate previous research on the efficacy of acupuncture in increasing pregnancy rates ( PR ) in patients undergoing IVF and to determine whether such an increase was due to a placebo effect . DESIGN Prospect i ve , r and omized , controlled , single blind trial . SETTING Private , academically affiliated , infertility clinic . PATIENT(S ) One hundred fifty patients scheduled to undergo embryo transfer . INTERVENTION(S ) Subjects were r and omized to either the acupuncture or control group . Acupuncture patients received the protocol , as first described by Paulus and his colleagues , for 25 minutes before and after embryo transfer . Control subjects laid quietly . All subjects then completed question naires on anxiety and optimism . The IVF staff remained blind to subject assignment . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S ) Clinical PRs , anxiety , optimism . RESULT ( S ) Before r and omization both groups had similar demographic characteristics including age and psychological variables . There were no significant differences in PRs between the two groups . Acupuncture patients reported significantly less anxiety post-transfer and reported feeling more optimistic about their cycle and enjoyed their sessions more than the control subjects . CONCLUSION ( S ) The use of acupuncture in patients undergoing IVF was not associated with an increase in PRs but they were more relaxed and more optimistic BACKGROUND In a previous study on the effect of electro-acupuncture ( EA ) in combination with a paracervical block ( PCB ) as an analgesic method during oocyte aspiration in IVF treatment , EA appeared to increase the pregnancy rate . This study was design ed to test the hypothesis that EA as an analgesic during oocyte aspiration would result in : ( i ) a better IVF pregnancy rate than with alfentanil ; ( ii ) peroperative analgesia that was as good as that produced by alfentanil ; ( iii ) less postoperative abdominal pain , nausea and stress ; and ( iv ) a reduction in the use of additional analgesics . Neuropeptide Y ( NPY ) concentrations in follicular fluid ( FF ) were analysed when possible . METHODS AND RESULTS In this prospect i ve , r and omized , multicentre clinical trial , 286 women undergoing oocyte aspiration were r and omly allocated to the EA group ( EA plus a PCB ) or to the alfentanil group ( alfentanil plus a PCB ) . No significant differences were found between the EA and alfentanil groups in any of the IVF variables . NPY concentrations in FF were significantly higher in the EA group compared with the alfentanil group . No correlation between pregnancy rate and NPY concentrations was found in either analgesic group . Both EA plus a PCB and alfentanil plus a PCB induced adequate peroperative analgesia during oocyte aspiration evaluated using the visual analogue scale . After 2 h , the EA group reported significantly less abdominal pain , other pain , nausea and stress than the alfentanil group . In addition , the EA group received significantly lower amounts of additional alfentanil than the alfentanil group . CONCLUSION EA does not improve pregnancy rate in the present clinical situation . The observation that NPY concentrations in FF were higher in the EA group may be important for human ovarian steroidogenesis . The analgesic effects produced by EA are as good as those produced by conventional analgesics , and the use of opiate analgesics with EA is lower than when conventional analgesics alone are used OBJECTIVE To evaluate the influence of " true " versus " sham " acupuncture on pregnancy rates ( PRs ) in women undergoing IVF . DESIGN R and omized controlled trial , double-blinded with independent observer . SETTING Academic infertility clinic . PATIENT(S ) One hundred sixty patients < 38 years old undergoing IVF with or without intracytoplasmic sperm injection . INTERVENTION(S ) Subjects were r and omly allocated to the true or sham group and underwent acupuncture 25 minutes before and after ET . Subjects completed a McGill Pain Question naire regarding their clinical symptoms during ET . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S ) Clinical PR and clinical symptoms during ET . RESULT ( S ) While the overall clinical PR was 51.25 % , there was no significant difference between the arms of the study ( true = 45.3 % vs. sham = 52.7 % ) ; 33.1 % of the patients had ultrasound-documented singleton pregnancy , and 15 % of patients had twin gestations , while one patient in the true arm had a triplet gestation . There were significant differences in the subjective , affective , and total pain experience between both arms . The subjects in the true arm described their acupuncture session as being more " tiring " and " fearful " and experienced more " achiness " compared with their sham counterparts . CONCLUSION ( S ) There was no statistically significant difference in the clinical or chemical PRs between both groups . Patients undergoing true acupuncture had differing sensory experiences compared with patients in the sham arm . There were no significant adverse effects observed during the study , suggesting that acupuncture is safe for women undergoing ET OBJECTIVE To determine the effect of luteal-phase acupuncture on the outcome of  IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection ( ICSI ) . DESIGN R and omized , prospect i ve , controlled clinical study . SETTING University IVF center . PATIENT(S ) Two hundred twenty-five infertile patients undergoing IVF/ICSI . INTERVENTION(S ) In group I , 116 patients received luteal-phase acupuncture according to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine . In group II , 109 patients received placebo acupuncture . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S ) Clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates . RESULT ( S ) In group I , the clinical pregnancy rate and ongoing pregnancy rate ( 33.6 % and 28.4 % , respectively ) were significantly higher than in group II ( 15.6 % and 13.8 % ) . CONCLUSION ( S ) Luteal-phase acupuncture has a positive effect on the outcome of IVF/ICSI Background Acupuncture has recently been used as a complementary technique in the management of infertility . It has physiological and psychological effects and may be considered an alternative for stress reduction in women undergoing infertility treatments . Objective To examine the hypothesis that acupuncture treatment may increase the pregnancy rate in patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles . Methods Patients enrolled in the study were stratified according to age and r and omised to either a control group ( n=208 ) or acupuncture group , ( n=208 ) . The pregnancy , implantation and abortion rates of the two groups were compared . Results No influence of acupuncture treatment on clinical outcomes was seen ; however , when cycles in which the causes of infertility were exclusively tubal-uterine or idiopathic were evaluated separately , a positive influence of acupuncture on pregnancy ( OR=5.15 , 95 % CI 1.03 to 34.5 ; p=0.048 ) was noted . Moreover , trends toward an increase in implantation were seen when acupuncture was performed ( regression coefficient : 0.645 ; p=0.092 ) . Conclusion The results suggest that acupuncture treatment had no influence when performed immediately before and immediately after embryo transfer , on clinical outcomes overall . In a subgroup analysis , when the embryo was not affected by an ovarian or seminal influence , a benefit was noted OBJECTIVE To observe the impacts of electroacupuncture ( EA ) on oocyte quality and pregnant outcome for the patients with polycystic ovary syndrome ( PCOS ) undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer ( IVF-ET ) and explore its potential mechanism . METHODS Sixty-six patients with PCOS and undergoing IVF-ET were divided into two groups r and omly , including an observation group ( 34 cases ) and a control group ( 32 cases ) . Ethinylestradiol and cyproterone acetate tablets and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist were administered for long-program superovulation in either group . In observation group , the intervention of EA was applied to Guanyuan ( CV 4 ) , Zhongji ( CV 3 ) , Sanyinjiao ( SP 6 ) , Zigong ( EX-CA 1 ) and Taixi ( KI 3 ) additionally . The pregnant outcome and the levels of stem cell factor ( SCF ) in the serum and follicular fluid on the day of egg collection were compared between two groups . RESULTS The score of kidney deficiency symptoms reduced remarkably after treatment in either group and the improvement in observation group was superior to that in control group ( P < 0.01 ) . The fertilization rate [ ( 76.25 + /- 20.33)% vs ( 66.34 + /- 15.44)% ] , cleavage rate [ ( 98.66 + /- 3.70)% vs ( 94.47 + /- 9.45)% ] and the rate of high- quality embryos [ ( 60.20 + /- 22.20)% vs ( 50.55 + /- 16.15)% ] in observation group were all superior to those in control group separately ( all P < 0.05 ) . Clinical pregnancy rate ( 46.67 % , 14/30 ) in observation group was higher than that ( 37.93 % , 11/29 ) in control group , but without statistical difference ( P > 0.05 ) . SCF levels in the serum and follicular fluid on the day of ovary collection were higher obviously than those in control group ( all P < 0.05 ) . CONCLUSION Electroacupuncture plays an active role in the pregnant outcomes of PCOS patients undergoing IVF-ET and it can relieve the symptoms of kidney deficiency in terms of TCM and improve clinical pregnant rate . The results are relevant with the overall adjustment of organic endocrinal system and the local micro-environment of ovary and the improvement of oocyte quality through the up-regulation of SCF level in mechanism The role of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate has not been evaluated in frozen-thawed embryo transfer ( FET ) cycles . This r and omized double-blind study aim ed to determine whether acupuncture performed on the day of FET improves clinical outcomes . On the day of FET , 226 patients were r and omly allocated to either real or placebo acupuncture according to a computer-generated r and omization list in sealed opaque envelopes . They received a session of real or placebo acupuncture for 25 min on site immediately after FET . The anxiety level and serum cortisol concentration were evaluated before and after real and placebo acupuncture . There were no significant differences in rates of overall pregnancy , clinical pregnancy , ongoing pregnancy , live birth and implantation in the placebo acupuncture group , when compared with the real acupuncture group . The anxiety level and serum cortisol concentration were similar for both groups . Only the placebo acupuncture group had significantly higher ongoing pregnancy ( P=0.022 ) and implantation rates ( P=0.038 ) than those who declined to join the study and received no acupuncture . In conclusion , comparable pregnancy and live birth rates of FET treatment were found in patients who had one session of real or placebo acupuncture after FET BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to compare the pain-relieving effect and the subjective well-being between auricular electro-acupuncture ( EA ) analgesia , auricular acupuncture ( A ) and conventional analgesia with remifentanil ( CO ) . METHODS A total of 94 women undergoing IVF were r and omized to auricular acupuncture with ( EA , n = 32 ) or without ( A , n = 32 ) continuous 1 Hz auricular stimulation ( using a battery-powered miniaturized stimulator , P-Stim ) or with adhesive tapes instead of needles and no electrical stimulation ( control group , CO , n = 30 ) at the auricular acupuncture points 29 , 55 and 57 . All patients received patient-controlled analgesia ( PCA ) with remifentanil .  Pain intensity and psychological well-being were assessed by means of visual analogue scales ( VAS ) ; tiredness , nausea and vomiting and analgesic drug consumption were documented . R 
    Output:
    