Infertility: ART, Medicinal Plants, and Acupuncture
Call for Papers
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 accepted
Authors who have already published research on medicinal plants and ART are welcome to discuss patient details that were excluded from their original publications
Failures 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/.
Manuscript Due Friday, 29 January 2016
First Round of Reviews Friday, 22 April 2016
Publication Date Friday, 17 June 2016
Lead Guest Editor
Cheryl Lans, Institute for Ethnobotany and Zoopharmacognosy, Ubbergen, Netherlands
Guest Editors
Rainer W. Bussmann, William L. Brown Center, St. Louis, USA
Lisa Taylor-Swanson, University of Washington, Bothell, USA
