Clinical Evaluation of Acupuncture in Treating Glaucoma

November 7, 2019 updated by: China Medical University Hospital
The present study predicts that acupuncture or electroacupuncture can reduce intraocular pressure and also can improve quality of life in patients with glaucoma.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Glaucoma is a syndrome, and that is results from intraocular pressure increases cause visual field narrow and blindness. The incidence of adult blindness induced by glaucoma is second in the ophthalmologic disease in the world. Many studies report that both blood circulation in the eye surroundings and intraocular pressure increase play an important role in glaucoma. Several studies show that acupuncture can modulate intraocular pressure and improve activity of central visual acuity and also increase blood flow of eye fundus. Jingming (BL1) can communicate yi and yang, and nourish and clear eyes, Qiuhou (EX-HN7) can transport qi and activate blood, and freely flowing meridian and clear eyes. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of acupuncture at Jinming and Qiuhou on intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma. The study designed as a single-blinded, randomized, controlled clinical trial, a total of45 patients with glaucoma divided into three groups, each group was15 subjects as follows: 1) sham group, using the seeds of wang-bu-liu-xing applied on the surface of Jinming and Qiuhou acupoints, one times/day, and each time was 20 min, twice/week for 2 weeks; 2) acupuncture group, the methods were identical to the sham group, but used acupuncture applied to Qingming and Qiuhou with Der-qi; 3) Electroacupuncture group, the methods were identical to acupuncture, but the needles of Qinming and Qiuhou connected to the electroacupuncture machine after Der-qi, the frequencies of stimulus were 6 Hz, the intensity of stimulus was minimal visible muscle twitch. Primary outcome measure was the changes of intraocular pressure, and the second outcome measure was the score changes of WHOQOL-REF (Taiwan version).

The present study predicts that acupuncture or electroacupuncture can reduce intraocular pressure and also can improve quality of life in patients with glaucoma.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

45

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Taiwan
      • Taichung, Taiwan, 404
        • China Medical University Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Glaucoma for at least three months
  2. Do not use ocular hypotensive drugs or use only one ocular hypotensive drug.
  3. It is over 20 years old.
  4. Men and women are informal.
  5. There is no evidence other than glaucoma that shows other eye diseases.
  6. Be aware and fill out the consent form yourself.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Combines other chronic diseases, taking multiple medications such as high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.
  2. Those who have had glaucoma surgery.
  3. Those who had undergone myopia laser surgery.
  4. Can not accept acupuncture points stimulators.
  5. Allergic to acupuncture needles.
  6. Has a mental illness or is unable to cooperate with the researcher.
  7. Do not sign consent

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Factorial Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Sham Comparator: sham group
15 subjects with seeds of wang-bu-liu-xing applied on the surface of Jinming and Qiuhou acupoints
Device: wang-bu-liu-xing
wang-bu-liu-xing applied on the surface of Jinming and Qiuhou acupoints
Other Names:
  • Canon Pneumotonometer
Experimental: acupuncture group
15 subjects with acupuncture applied to Qingming and Qiuhou with Der-qi
Device: acupuncture
acupuncture applied to Qingming and Qiuhou with Der-qi
Experimental: Electroacupuncture group
15 subjects wth acupuncture, but the needles of Qinming and Qiuhou connected to the electroacupuncture machine after Der-qi
Device: Electroacupuncture
acupuncture, but the needles of Qinming and Qiuhou connected to the electroacupuncture machine after Der-qi, the frequencies of stimulus were 6 Hz, the intensity of stimulus was minimal visible muscle twitch

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
intraocular pressure
Time Frame: 20 min, twice/week for 2 weeks
Primary outcome measure was the changes of intraocular pressure,
20 min, twice/week for 2 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

China Medical University Hospital

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Ching-Liang Hsieh, PhD, China Medical University, China

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 1, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2019

Study Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 12, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 7, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

November 8, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 8, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 7, 2019

Last Verified

November 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CMUH106-REC2-161

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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