Using the electron spin resonance (ESR) and probe technique, the species of reactive oxygen free radicals and the oxygen consumption were observed in the metabolic process of oxygen of leukocytes from leukemia patients and healthy persons. Results showed that weak ESR spectrum of hydroxyl radical ((*)OH) signal was detected in the leukemia patient's leukocytes, there was no significant difference in oxygen consumption with or without PMA stimulation; superoxide anion (O(2)) in normal leukocytes was detected, and oxygen consumption increased markedly compared to the normal respiration without PMA stimulation (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in oxygen consumption between leukemic and normal leukocytes without PMA stimulation; however, it was higher in normal leukocyte than in leukemic leukoeytes after PMA stimulation (P < 0.001). These observations suggest that dysfunction of respiratory burst is existed in leukemic leukocytes, and their oxygen consumption is markedly lower than that of normal leukocytes.

BACKGROUND: Currently, more and more infertility couples are opting for combined acupuncture to improve success rate of in vitro fertilization (IVF). However, evidence from acupuncture for improving IVF pregnancy outcomes remains a matter of debate. OBJECTIVE: To quantitatively summarized the evidence of the efficacy of acupuncture among women undergoing IVF by means of systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: Four English (PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane Register of Controlled Clinical Trials) and Four Chinese databases (Wanfang Databases, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database, and SinoMed) were searched from database inception until July 2, 2023. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the acupuncture's effects for women undergoing IVF were included. The subgroup analysis was conducted with respect to the age of participants, different acupuncture types, type of control, acupuncture timing, geographical origin of the study, whether or not repeated IVF failure, and acupuncture sessions. Sensitivity analyses were predefifined to explore the robustness of results. The primary outcomes were clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) and live birth rate (LBR), and the secondary outcomes were ongoing pregnancy rate and miscarriage rate. Random effects model with I² statistics were used to quantify heterogeneity. Publication bias was estimated by funnel plots and Egger's tests. RESULTS: A total of 58 eligible RCTs representing 10,968 women undergoing IVF for pregnant success were identifified. Pooled CPR and LBR showed a signifificant difference between acupuncture and control groups [69 comparisons, relative risk (RR) 1.19, 95% confifidence intervals (CI) 1.12 to 1.25, I²=0], extremely low evidence; 23 comparisons, RR 1.11, 95%CI 1.02 to 1.21, I²=14.6, low evidence, respectively). Only transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation showed a positive effect on both CPR (16 comparisons, RR 1.17, 95%CI 1.06 to 1.29; I²=0, moderate evidence) and LBR (9 comparisons, RR 1.20, 95%CI 1.04 to 1.37; I²=8.5, extremely low evidence). Heterogeneity across studies was found and no studies were graded as high-quality evidence. CONCLUSION Results showed that the convincing evidence levels on the associations between acupuncture and IVF pregnant outcomes were relatively low, and the varied methodological design and heterogeneity might inflfluence the fifindings. (Registration No. PROSPERO CRD42021232430).
Pregnancy ; Female ; Humans ; Live Birth ; Fertilization in Vitro/methods* ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Abortion, Spontaneous ; Acupuncture Therapy