Acupuncture and Macular Degeneration

Macular degeneration (MD) is an eye disorder that is characterized by a progressive degeneration of the retina. It is estimated that around 200 million people world wide suffer from this disorder. The incidence of MD increases with age, however there are limited treatment options available. There are two types of MD, “wet” and “dry” forms. Both forms can lead to complete loss of central vision. Dry MD is the most common type, while Wet MD is less common but it progresses more quickly and can lead to severe vision loss and blindness. There are very few treatments, conventionally for dry forms of MD but certain drugs can help stabilize the progression in wet forms of macular degeneration. Loss of central vision impacts visual tasks like reading and facial recognition, making objects look blurry. This may dramatically impact a person’s quality of life, ability to work, and even drive.

One (of several benefits) of using acupuncture to help macular degeneration is that they are little to no side effects, compared to conventional options.

What do the studies say?

A study looking at if acupuncture could help age-related macular degeneration looked cases receiving acupuncture versus those receiving medication (this study was vitamin C and E and IM injection of Entodon). This study found that there was an 88% effective rate of improvement in symptoms with the acupuncture group compared to 60% in the medication group. Showing promise of acupuncture for hard to treat conditions like MD.

Read Dr. Heintze’s previous post on how acupuncture can help vision, here.

In another recent study in the Journal of Medical Acupuncture, looked at patients over a 18-month period being treated with acupuncture protocols that have been shown to help age-related MD. Of the patients in the study, 69% showed improvement in near vision, 69% showed improvement in distant vision. The study noted possible mechanisms acupuncture worked by helping to increase blood flow and improved cellular function.

If you suffer from macular degeneration, give our office a call today at (425) 686-4498 to set-up your initial consultation to learn how we can help.

Sources:

Uptodate.com

Acupuncture and macular degeneration: https://europepmc.org/article/med/21355157

Acupuncture and MRI study: https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.95.5.2670