Neuro Acupuncture : What it can do for ophthalmology and what it cannot do.

During the years 1979 to 1981 Dr. Landale studied the acupuncture methods of Doctors Renald Ching and Susan Wong in Hong Kong. The methods that they use are quite unique in the acupuncture world and Dr Landale feels proud and privileged to be able to use them.
This is a summary report on 2000 cases treated by this method over a period of 10 years.
The method is found to be effective in the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa, retrobulbar neuritis, optic atrophy, degeneration of high myopia, cataract, glaucoma and retinal detachment. These are a sad group of patients who wandered from doctor to doctor, and from clinic to clinic, only to be told, honestly enough, that there is nothing more modern medicine can do for them. They are the incurables.

All patients classified under the group of "incurable" chronic retinal diseases are candidates for this treatment. Anterior segment diseases or acute conditions of the eye are excluded, for modern methods of treatment are quite adequate to take care of them.
After trying out many acupuncture points for the eye it was discovered that this new, highly selective  point technique is effective in all retinal diseases.
No anaesthesia is needed.
A course of this neuro acupuncture usually consists of twelve treatments of 15 minutes each. The duration may be shortened or prolonged. The whole procedure is flexible and is adapted to each individuals response.

If the patient can read two lines more on the Snellen chart after a few sessions of treatment the improvement is considered significant
Retinitis Pigmentosa: This is the happiest group. The majority of cases show remarkable improvement in vision, especially when the disease is recognised early and the visual field has not deteriorated far. There is little change in visual field and no change in the fundus picture.
Retrobulbar neuritis, High myopia , Maculopathy, Cataract ( no effect on structure or chemistry of the lens), Surgical aphakia, can be improved remarkably, not matter how long since the operation, as long as the eye is quiet with no mechanical obstruction along the visual axis.
Glaucoma : Improves the vision after it has been brought under control by operation or drugs.
Retinal detachment: Improves the vision. The improvement is in the visual acuity. It does not change the appearance of the fundus.
High myopia with or without degeneration of the retina showed an average of 50% vision improvement.
Maculopathy : Familial, senile, trauma, diabetic, etc. The lesion is limited to the macular spot to a large white and pigmented patch. These only respond a small amount.

Acupuncture stimulated the macula which is the common denominator in the response of all the  retinal diseases treated. Improve the macula acuity and the disease will improve no matter what is the diagnosis.
Neuro acupuncture is the means to effect this improvement.
Two conditions must be met before any retinal disease can show improvement by acupuncture.
1: The macula must be viable.
2: The light pathway from the object to the macula must be clear.
The more the macula is viable the greater will be the success of the treatment. Such is the case of retinitis pigmentosa and glaucoma, the central acuity of which is usually the last go. On the other hand in maculopathies the macula is the first to be destroyed, leaving nothing for the treatment to work on. In white patches of macula lesions or a central choroiditis the macula is dead and therefore cannot respond to any stimulation at all. These two conditions  also indicate the prognosis and predict the permanency of improvement. It depends on one single factor, whether the cause of the disease is eliminated, stationary or advancing.
In chronic conditions of the retina there are two constantly opposing forces standing against each other. One is destructive, catabolic; the other is repairing, anabolic. Acupuncture is an anabolic to the macular function. Its repairing action is quick and permanent if the cause of the disease can be eliminated. Such is shown in optic atrophy after brain tumour removal, ethembutol poisoning, surgical aphakia and in healed retinal detachment.
Retinitis pigmentosa and degeneration of high myopia cannot entirely get rid of the catabolic factor. Periodic top-ups of treatment are often necessary.
The maculopathies are a poor responding group because the macular viability is impaired. It depends on how far the macula has degenerated as to how well the recovery or stabilising of the condition will respond.
Some portion of the macula must be viable.
Vascular conditions inside the eye show no response, pathological  changes are not affected.
Acupuncture does not influence the intra-ocular pressure.

This is original research, therefore no bibliography.