Acupuncture is effective for Children with amblyopia, lazy eyes

Children with amblyopia, better known as "lazy eyes," are benefiting from a new approach, combining traditional treatment with the help of acupuncture.

Lazy eye in children is an important cause of visual impairment worldwide. About 3 to 4 percent of all children are afflicted with it. The condition results from degradation of the retinal image during a sensitive period of visual development. Onset usually takes place during the first few years of a child's life.

The Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences (DOVS) of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and Shantou University began jointly conducting two clinical trials in 2006. Acupuncture was used as an alternative treatment for children with lazy eyes, in two age groups, aged 3-6 and 7-12. Click to learn Ovarian Cyst in TCM.

Professor Dorothy Shu-ping Fan, professor of the Department of DOVS at CUHK said, "If amblyopia is not treated in time, the chance of recovery is minimal. The best treatment period for obtaining good results is in children aged 3 to 6; moderate results can be obtained in children aged 7 to 12; the treatment effect is negligible in children aged 13 or above."

171 randomly chosen children who had lazy eyes were treated in these two controlled trials. The research team, headed by professor Dennis Shun-chiu Lam, chairman of DOVS, designed a special combination of five acupuncture points, which were used for the first time for treating human diseases. As far as the researchers are concerned, the studies prove that acupuncture provides a good sustainable therapeutic effect augmenting spectacle correction and occlusive therapy for treatment of lazy eyes in children.

The children from Shantou spent 15 weeks, five days per week, receiving treatment. The 3-6 age group was divided into two teams; one was treated with corrective lenses while the other added acupuncture to the treatment. About 15 percent of the children treated with corrective lenses recovered while 57 percent of the children treated with the combination of acupuncture recovered. Of the 7-12 age group, the children treated with the combination of acupuncture and traditional treatment experienced a 41 percent recovery rate, higher than those who were treated with corrective lenses alone.

"Acupuncture can accelerate the treatment response, improve the overall treatment results and shorten the total treatment duration. Results of the first trial have already been accepted by one of the leading eye journals in the world," said Lam. Click to learn Endometriosis in TCM.

Both age groups showed sustainable results up to 60 weeks. If the treatment period could be extended to 30 weeks, the affect could even be greater. "We expect the children to receive treatment at least 20 times a month, but it is alright for them to postpone in the middle of the treatment. It is like a bank: the more you do the treatment, the better result you will get," Lam said.

Professor Jian-hao Zhao, professor of Joint Shantou International Eye Center (JSIEC) of the Shantou University and CUHK, and the chief acupuncturist for the study, has performed tens of thousands of acupuncture treatment procedures on patients. He said, "With the use of disposable acupuncture needles, there is no risk of cross-infection. Also, no serious side effects have ever occurred. Acupuncture is well tolerated by children as young as 3."

Professor Ming-zhi Zhang, professor and executive vice-deputy director of JSIEC added, "Acupuncture has been used in the treatment of a variety of eye diseases at JSIEC since 2005. Over 150,000 acupuncture treatment procedures have been performed and acupuncture as a treatment modality is well accepted and received by patients in JSIEC and the mainland at large." Click to learn Fibroid in TCM.

Lam predicted that the study of lazy eye syndrome will also shed light on potential uses of acupuncture in treating other eye disorders and diseases. CUHK is now conducting acupuncture research for treating various eye disorders and diseases including lazy eye, myopia, presbyopia, glaucoma, dry eye, corneal ulcer and limbal stem cell disease.

Article source: Chinadaily