Dr. Johannes Nepp (1,2), Univ. Doz. Dr. Andreas Wedrich (1)
(1)Eye Clinic of the University Vienna , Dep. B., (Prof. Freyler) A 1090 Vienna Wahringer G. 18-20 / Austria (2)L. Boltzmann Institute (Prof. Dr. J.Bischko, Prim.Dr.H.Nissel)
Blindness is the terminal point of visual impairment. There are many kinds of diseases reducing the visual function.
Acupuncture is a new kind of therapy in the western world, and patients with any kind of complaints, whom other doctors could not help, mention acupuncture as a very last hope.
Therefore it is easy to treat patients, and to tell them that they will be cured. If the therapy has any good effect, they will believe on it, and if there is no effect, they will believe, that there will be any effect at any time.
My question starting this study, was, if there is any effect of acupuncture in blindness, like non-ophthalmologists and even not medical doctors, practising acupuncture, tell the patients.
At first we studied the literature of acupuncture and secondly we observed patients suffering from blindness from different diseases. Visual acuity, visual field , colour function-tests and electroophthalmologic tests before and after treatment were performed. The patients, we observed, suffered from blindness by Retinitis centralis serosa, from Retinitis pigmentosa and from diabetic retinopathia.
The result of this study was, that there exists no paper and no book, which describes blindness as a good indication of acupuncture . Only Pietrovsky wrote about effects of acupuncture on blindness, but he did not evaluate functional or anatomical parameters.
In our observation Acupuncture improved the general condition but did not effect visual functions in the patients study.