Effect of Acupuncture on Intraocular Pressure in Glaucoma Patients: A Single-Blinded, Randomized, Controlled Trial

Glaucoma is characterized by the degeneration of retinal ganglion cells that cause progressive optic neuropathy, finally resulting in changes to the optic nerve head. Lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) is the only method proven for treating glaucoma. Several studies have discovered that acupuncture can reduce IOP and also increase ocular perfusion and ocular blood flow. Therefore, the present study investigated the effect of acupuncture on IOP in glaucoma patients. We conducted a single-blinded, randomized, controlled trial involving 45 glaucoma patients. The results indicated that the difference between the IOP 60 min after the intervention and IOP immediately before the intervention was greater in the acupuncture group (AG) and electroacupuncture group (EG) than in the sham group (SG) for all four of the interventions performed and in both eyes (all p