Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Special Issue on
Infertility: ART, Medicinal Plants, and Acupuncture
Medicinal plants and herbal formulas used to treat infertility have been
studied for the support of pregnancies that have been achieved using artificial reproductive technologies (ART). Likewise, acupuncture’s effects
on pregnancy have been studied, particularly when applied
before and after
in vitro fertilization (IVF). However,
to date
there are only a few papers
that examine herbal
support for fertility, and only one paper that presents
findings of acupuncture and traditional Chinese
herbal medicine combined to treat
infertility. Practitioners often
employ more than one therapeutic in clinic.
We invite research and review papers describing current and expected usage of medicinal
plants and acupuncture (used individually or concurrently) for ART clients.
Clinical trials and clinical experiences are
welcome. Papers based on clinic experience would need to devote several
paragraphs to justifying their methodological approach
and of course need patient consent.
Potential topics include, but are not limited
to:
Systematic reviews that only discuss
the limitations and weaknesses of previously conducted research will not be acceptedAuthors who have already published research on medicinal plants and ART are welcome to discuss
patient details that were excluded
from their original publicationsFailures to achieve pregnancy using ART and medicinal plants are also welcome if patient details
such as poor oocyte quality
or other medical
issues are discussed as the probable reason for failure
Authors can
submit their manuscripts via
the Manuscript Tracking
System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/ecam/iamp/.
Lead Guest Editor
Cheryl Lans, Institute
for Ethnobotany and
Zoopharmacognosy, Ubbergen,
Netherlands
Guest Editors
Manuscript Due
Friday,
29 January 2016
First Round of Reviews
Friday, 22
April 2016
Publication Date
Friday,
17 June 2016
