Female infertility and herbal medicine

The causes of female infertility are multifaceted, and may extend to either of the partners or even both. Indeed, the root issues of infertility can be related to both sexes: approximately 50 percent of infertility is caused by female conditions, while approximately 40 percent is male related. It is also worth noting that in 25 percent of infertile couples both partners will have a fertility problem. Herbs originate from plants and plant extracts from a wide variety of natural resources, including plant leaves, bark, flowers, roots, and fruits and berries. Evidence based herbal medicine may present an effective treatment for female infertility. In this review we present some solid evidence for role of herbal medicine in the treatment of female infertility

[ efficacy of herbal medicines for treatment of hot flash: a systematic review]

Background: Hot flashing is the most common symptoms experienced by women around the menopause time. The most common therapy for relief of menopausal symptoms is Hormone Replacement Therapy [HRT], but it has side effects. So, many women are interested in herbal medicines because of fear of side effect of hormone therapy

Objective: The aim of this study was assess the effectiveness of different herbal medicine on the hot flash in menopausal women in clinical tria

Methods: The database of Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched to investigate randomized controlled clinical trials on the efficacy of herbal medicines on hot flash from Feb 1994 to Feb 2017

Results: Fifty nine randomized controlled trials found according to the inclusion criteria

The results demonstrating that different herbal medicines such as Ginkgo biloba can have role in reduction of the hot flashes

Conclusion: Our study show that many herbal medicines can reduce the frequency and number of hot Flash but it needs more future studies to find reliable result

trace of evidence based medicine in Avicenna's approaches

Many factors underlie the growing popularity of herbal treatments for a variety of chronic conditions. Interestingly, people who use alternative therapies are not necessarily uninformed. If anything, they are more "culturally creative" [i.e., comfortable with cultural changes] and more highly educated. Many people using herbal medicines find the health care alternatives are more congruent with their own values, beliefs and philosophical orientations toward health and life. Similarly, it seems likely that many people feel that herbal medicines are empowering by allowing them to treat themselves without seeing a physician. [This same attitude may be behind the growing popularity of patient-initiated diagnostic scanning procedures such as whole body scans]. The danger is that, many people believe that herbal medicines have no toxicity problems or even side effects. In addition, they are not aware of many possible interactions of herbal medicine with concurrent prescribed medications. In this review we focus on Avicenna's evidence based medicine approaches in herbal medicine

Herbal medicine in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome [PCOS] is a hormonal disorder that affects between 5 - 10% of women who are of reproductive age. The most common symptoms of PCOS are obesity/difficulty losing weight, acne, amenorrhea [absence of menstrual cycles], irregular menstrual cycles, hirsutism [increased growth of corporal hair], insulin resistance, and high cholesterol. One of the treatments for PCOS is the use of Metformin [which is a drug prescribed to type 2 diabetics] which can help treat the insulin resistance associated with PCOS. However many women who suffer from PCOS opt to use alternative medicine in conjunction with traditional medicine to improve their condition. There are some herbs that are very helpful in treating PCOS. In this review, we focus on the role of herbal medicine in the treatment of PCOS

Herbal medicine for women's health

The treatments used by most doctors are considered conventional medicine. Complementary and alternative medicine [CAM] consists of a group of health care practices and products that are considered out of the mainstream. An "out-of-the-mainstream" treatment is considered complementary if you use it along with conventional medicine. Research shows that 40 percent of women in the United States use some form of CAM. People try CAM for a variety of reasons, including: conventional medicine has not helped solve their medical problem. They believe that products derived from nature are healthier and safer than prescription drugs, even though they may not be. They like the holistic approach taken by CAM therapists. A holistic approach involves paying attention to all of a client's needs to help her regain and maintain her health. These include not just physical but also emotional, social, and spiritual needs. In this review we summarize some indications of herbal medicine in women's health

Herbal medicine for treating hot flashes

Although some alternative therapies like botanical and herbal therapies have shown promise for relieving menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, more research is needed. Eighty-five percent of the women in the United States experience hot flashes of some kind as they approach menopause and for the first year or two after their periods stop. Between 20 and 50% of women continue to have them for many more years. As time goes on, the intensity decreases. In this review we focus on the evidence based herbal medicine in particular with herbs that have antidepressant effects

Evidence based medicine: clinical trials

Evidence based medicine is very important for success of modern medicine. It is the ongoing process of using the most reliable evidence from clinical studies, scientific understanding and medical practice to make the best possible medical choice for patients. Evidence based medicine is how medicine advances and how we get improvements in life expectancy and quality of life. It not only identifies which treatments are effective but also those which are ineffective and may do more harm than good, and identifies areas where more investigation is needed and where there may be gaps in knowledge. In this review we focus on clinical trials

Herbal medicine in the treatment of premenstrual syndromes

Premenstrual syndromes [PMS] are a group of menstrually related, chronic and cyclical disorders characterized by emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms in the second half [luteal phase] of the menstrual cycle. Several line of evidence point to a significant role of the serotonergic system in the course of the luteal phase in women with PMS/ Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. It has been reported that herbal medicine is useful in relieving the symptoms of PMS. An American telephone survey suggested that up to 80% self-medicating sufferers use complementary remedies. This review focused on herbal medicine in the treatment of PMS

Comparison of pregnancy and implantation rates in zygote intrafallopian transfer and uterine embryo transfer for nontubal infertility

We carried out a prospective randomized trial on 220 couples with nontubal factor infertility to compare pregnancy rates and implantation rates after zygote intrafallopian transfer [ZIFT] and uterine embryo transfer [UET]. The zygote was transferred by laparoscopy into the fallopian tube 24 hours after oocyst retrieval. UET was performed 72 hours after retrieval with abdominal sonography guide. Transfer was performed in 102 cycles in the ZIFT and 100 cycles in the UET group. The pregnancy and implantation rates were significantly higher in the ZIFT group [42.1% and 11.7%] than in the UET group [21.0% and 7.8%] [P < 0.05]. ZIFT could be considered for couples who have limited time and adequate financial support

Herbal medicine and women's mental health

Herbal medicine is being increasingly used by women to prevent diseases, promote health and treat different diseases including a number of psychiatric disorders. The use of herbal drugs is increasing in the western world. The use of herbal drugs during pregnancy has been studied to various extents in different countries. However, more information is required regarding the impact of herbal medicine on conventional treatment, because such information can have important for public health and mental health care. This review focuses on herbal medicine and mental health of women in particular premenstrual syndrome and maternal depression

Pregnancy success rate in timed intercourse and IUI in patients with hypothalamic amenorrhea

Hypothalamic amenorrhea is one of the most prevalent problems leading to anovulation in which decrease in pulsatile release of GnRH is seen. Patients affected with hypothalamic amenorrhea who want to become pregnant must be induced by exogenous gonadotropin or GnRH to ovulate. Most patients consider this method inappropriate because they are forced to carry the mini-pump with them even while they are sleeping. The GnRH pump is not available in Iran. For this reason, exogenous gonadotropin is use then Timed Intercourse [TI] or intrauterine Insemination [IUI] are recommended to the patients for induction of ovulation. Otherwise, In Vitro Fertilization [IVF] or even Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection [ICSI] techniques are used. IT is an easier and cheaper method compared to IVF and IUI. The objective of this study is compare the pregnancy success rate of the two methods of TI and IUI. In this clinically retrospective study, hypothalamic amenorrhea patients who referred to infertility clinics of Reproductive Health Research Center, Tehran, Iran and registered between April 1999 to march 2005 were considered. TI or IUI, after induction of ovulation was administered and the rate of successful pregnancies was compared. The cases with infertility due to the male factor, uterine anomaly and fallopian tube obstruction were excluded. In the TI group, from 27 cycles, there were 19 pregnancies [70.73%]. In the IUI group, from 29 cycles there were seven pregnancies [24.13%]. The difference between these two methods was significant [P=0.05]. Duration of infertility, men age, and other demographic characteristic were not insignificant between the two groups. The results of this study provide support TI as the first-line treatment for hypothalamic amenorrhea. Considering the ease, low cost, and lack of demand for equipment are some of advantages of this method

[ systematic review of herbal medicinal products for the treatment of menopausal symptoms]

Many women are interested to use complementary and alternative medicines for relief from their menopausal symptoms. The prevalence of herbal medicinal product use among menopausal women highlights the need for investigation into these interventions. The goal of this study was to evaluate the benefit of herbal medicinal products for the treatment of menopausal symptoms by performing a systematic review of clinical trials. Literature searches of four computerized databases were done to identify randomized clinical trials of herbal medicinal products for the treatment of menopausal symptoms. Manufacturers of herbal products were contacted, and our own files were also searched. There were no restrictions on the language of publication. Trials were considered if the outcome measures related to the physical or psychological impact of menopause, whether by compendium scores, questionnaires, or women's symptom diaries, excluding studies describing artificially induced menopause. This review was not concerned with biochemical or pathological data. Eighteen randomized clinical trials that fit our criteria were identified. These studies investigated black cohosh [n = 4], red clover [n = 4], kava [n = 3], dong quai [n = 1], evening primrose oil [n = 1], ginseng [n = 1], and combination products [n = 4]. Trial quality was generally good, with 16 of 18 studies scoring 3 or more [maximum 5] on the Jadad Scale. There is no enough evidence for any herbal medical product in the treatment of menopausal symptoms. However, the evidence for black cohosh is promising.The studies involving red clover show it may be of benefit for more severe menopausal symptoms. There is some document for the use of kava, but safety concerns mean this herbal product is not a therapeutic option at present