Electro-Acupuncture for Visual Rehabilitation after Ischaemic Stroke: A Case Report

Objective: To observe the effects of electro-acupuncture on visual function in patients with recent visual loss from a cerebral vascular accident.
Patient: An 84 year-old male incurred a cerebral vascular accident that resulted in moderate to severe visual impairment.
Intervention: Electro-acupuncture tailored according to a traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis (three treatment sessions per week for nine months - 108 treatments).
Main outcome measures: Visual field-testing before and after the series of treatments. The acupuncturist also performed crude visual field testing before and after each treatment session (Donder’s Test).
Results: Visual field and visual acuity improved over 80 per cent over a period of nine months.
Conclusions: This case suggests electro-acupuncture may help patients with post-stroke visual symptoms. These results must be interpreted cautiously because of the small