Clinical Evaluation of Acupuncture in Treating Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a syndrome, and that is results from intraocular pressure increases cause visual field narrow and blindness. The incidence of adult blindness induced by glaucoma is second in the ophthalmologic disease in the world. Many studies report that both blood circulation in the eye surroundings and intraocular pressure increase play an important role in glaucoma. Several studies show that acupuncture can modulate intraocular pressure and improve activity of central visual acuity and also increase blood flow of eye fundus. Jingming (BL1) can communicate yi and yang, and nourish and clear eyes, Qiuhou (EX-HN7) can transport qi and activate blood, and freely flowing meridian and clear eyes. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of acupuncture at Jinming and Qiuhou on intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma. The study designed as a single-blinded, randomized, controlled clinical trial, a total of45 patients with glaucoma divided into three groups, each group was15 subjects as follows: 1) sham group, using the seeds of wang-bu-liu-xing applied on the surface of Jinming and Qiuhou acupoints, one times/day, and each time was 20 min, twice/week for 2 weeks; 2) acupuncture group, the methods were identical to the sham group, but used acupuncture applied to Qingming and Qiuhou with Der-qi; 3) Electroacupuncture group, the methods were identical to acupuncture, but the needles of Qinming and Qiuhou connected to the electroacupuncture machine after Der-qi, the frequencies of stimulus were 6 Hz, the intensity of stimulus was minimal visible muscle twitch. Primary outcome measure was the changes of intraocular pressure, and the second outcome measure was the score changes of WHOQOL-REF (Taiwan version).

The present study predicts that acupuncture or electroacupuncture can reduce intraocular pressure and also can improve quality of life in patients with glaucoma.