Retinitis Pigmentosa
Feedback from 40 year old female RP patient after 10 treatments.
“These are a list of improvements I’ve observed since we started the first of 10 treatments and since I’ve started using the red light therapy (I use it every second day, so around 3 times a week for 2 weeks).
1) Regained some of my peripheral vision:
- Although not sharp I can see some shapes, hand movements in bottom of my peripheral vision when I look straight ahead
- The kerb and stairs look more defined, more 3D, can see the depth of the stairs better, don’t trip on the kerb as I used to, I feel more confident walking on the road I haven’t walked before.
- I used to miss things in my near peripheral vision, e.g I’d be cooking and not seeing where I put a seasoning and would have to step back to see it better now I don’t seem to have this problem.
- I follow the mouse pointer better, I used to struggle and some computer tasks would take longer because of that, I seem to take quicker now
- My vision field seems to widen in general, it’s nearly perfect when outside in sunny day, and still better than before on cloudy day or inside.
2) Quicker adaptation to darker indoors coming from bright sunny outdoors
- I used to need a few minutes to find my way inside, now it takes about half a minute
- The sun doesn’t blind me or hurt my eyes as it used to.
3) Much better central vision and contrast
- seeing things far away with greater detail, I can determine from around 1 km if I see a man or woman, the colour of cars, and shapes in general
In general it feels like I have a few years of damage reversed, not sure how many years exactly, but at least 5.”
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) (aka rod cone dystrophy) is an inherited degenerative eye disorder which affects the retina’s ability to respond to light. It results in progressive loss of vision, eventually resulting in substantial loss of peripheral vision. The retina has two photoreceptors - rods and cone. In RP, the rods forming the outer ring of the retina are usually most commonly affected first causing peripheral and night vision loss. The cones are are located in the center, and may degenerate to some degree in later stages, making it harder to see colours and fine details. Symptoms usually begin at a young age and progresses slowly over 10 - 40 years. There is no known cure for Retinitis pigmentosa in conventional medicine at present, although there are medications, gene therapy, or retinal implant that may slow vision loss. (1)
How does acupuncture work for RP?
Acupuncture increases blood flow to the eyes which increase oxygen and vital nutrients that allow for cellular respiration and nourishment. We also know that acupuncture can stimulate the visual cortex, which is the part of the brain where vision is processed. Proper circulation also ensures waste products are eliminated efficiently. Toxic accumulation is a significant issue with RP, Rod Cone dystrophy and Usher’s Syndrome.
All cells need oxygen and food to survive. When the air and food supply is cut off, the cells will degenerate and eventually die. Once a nerve cell is dead, it’s lost forever. Nothing that we currently know of can restore it.
Acupuncture stimulates and wakes up dormant nerve cells. Some cells are dead and others have become dormant. Acupuncture provides a global stimulus of the retinal and optic nerve and wakes the cells up, helping to restore function.
Acupuncture increases cellular energy output in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) within the mitochondria. Metabolic process seems to weaken and break down in RP patients - this process is called mitochondrial dysfunction with low cellular ATP output. This is one of the biggest issues which occur with RP and in some other eye conditions as well. The mitochondria are the cells “Power House” where energy is produced. No energy production means no visual function and diminished photoreceptor activity.
To summerise, acupuncture increases blood flow, stimulates nerve cells, arouses dormant cells, regulates the ATP mitochondrial function, and stimulates the brain’s visual cortex.
Benefits of acupuncture
There are three main factors that cause degeneration - Inflammation, Oxidative Stress and Poor Circulation. Treatments for retinitis pigmentosa using acupuncture have demonstrated positive clinical outcomes in several studies. (2)
Acupuncture is a valuable mechanism to help with circulation and to some degree, inflammation. Supplements can also help support and improve circulation and cool down the inflammation. Antioxidants, a clean diet and stress management will help with lowering oxidation levels.
Acupuncture treatment plan for RP
It’s best to carry out some preliminary vision testing before we start in order to establish a baseline. Then we’ll do five days of intensive, consecutive treatment (usually twice a day) using traditional acupuncture, electro-acupuncture and micro-acupuncture. We also recommend supplements to help feed the starving retinal cells. After the five-day series, ideally we retest because we want to confirm that there’s a positive and measurable response – both objectively and subjectively. Subjectively means the patient communicates that they’ve seen improvements, and objectively we see clear measurable improvement on the visual field, visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and color vision.
That first week, all we are looking for is any positive indicator that you are a responder. If there’s a positive indicator, then we continue for a second week, if not we discontinue.
Thw first year of treatment is very important because we usually see nerve regeneration during the first eight to fifteen months. It’s a case-by-case situation, but generally, we recommend two or three courses a year for the first year of treatment and then maybe twice a year for ongoing stabilisation, maintenance and preservation of vision.
What Western diagnostic tests should you do?
We usually recommend that patients get the following tests:
1) Visual Field Perimeter 5) Ocular Coherence Tomography (OCT)
2) Contrast Sensitivity 6) ERG (for RP/RCD)
3) Color Vision 7) Tonometry (eye pressure)
4) Visual Acuity 8) Dark adaptation tests (if possible).
References:
(1) https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/what-is-retinitis-pigmentosa
