Optic Atrophy

Optic atrophy is chronic ocular fundus disease, which severely influence vision. It is intractable ocular disease and is not simple disease. It is the dysfunction of optic neural conduction caused by the optic neural fibrosis under the influence of various factors. Clinically the common points are optic disc with pale or wax yellow color, abnormal visual field and color sense, progressive vision descent even blindness.

Etiology

(1). Primary optic atrophy: due to retrobulbar neuritis, hereditary optic neuropathy (Leber's disease), orbital tumor and injury (atrophy process downward).

(2). Secondary optic atrophy: due to papillitis, glaucoma, obstruction of central artery of retina and ischemic papilopathy (atrophy process upward).

(3). Intracranial lesion: due to intracranial inflammation spread downward to optic disc or intracranial hypertension resulting in optic disc swelling and forming secondary optic atrophy.

Etiology and pathogenesis explained in TCM:

Deficiency syndrome: eye malnutrition due to insufficiency of liver and kidney, insufficiency of heart-nutriment or yang deficiency of spleen and kidney, insufficiency of essence and blood or insufficiency of Qi and blood.

Excessive syndrome: eye malnutrition due to depression, impaired dispersion of liver, stagnation of Qi and blood and the sweat pores closed.

In our therapeutic center, we use the herbs with the effects of dispersing stagnation, promoting blood and resolving stasis, benefit Qi and blood, supporting resistance and tonic deficiency combined physical treatment and massage to improve microcirculation of pathogenic region, strengthen local metabolism function and tissue nutrition, relieve metabolism disorder due to toxic stimulation, accelerate soften and absorb the proliferation lesion. Use herbs as neuroreceptor excitant to strengthen the reflex activity and conduct function of CNS, make the suppressed optic neural fibres recover normal function to achieve vision recovery.

After treatment in our center, the patients with vision above front eye indication number, which means the visual nerve fibres have not totally become necrosis and degeneration, will hopefully get vision improvements, visual field expansion, and optic disc turning to reddish color. Patients with milder symptoms and shorter course of illness will have better results.

Case report:

Female, two years after surgery with glaucoma on both eyes.

Examination: vision on right eye 0.1, left 0.05, mild optic opacity on both eyes, optic discs in pale color with clear edges, C/D=0.8, walking with someone's help due to low vision, narrow visual field like tube.

Treatment:

After one month treatment with oral herbs, physiotherapy with "increasing vision device" and acupuncture points massage, once a day, her vision improved to 0.8 on right, 0.5 left, optic discs of both eyes turn to reddish, visual field expanded and walking by herself. The treatment was continually given for two more weeks to strengthen the result. Two years later, we rechecked her vision, the right 0.6 and left 0.4. The same treatment started for two weeks and the vision improved to 1.0 on right and 1.6 on left eye.

Conclusion:

Visual function can be improved relatively quickly and it is seldom to rebound after treatment. We would suggest that periodic examination and strengthen treatment are necessary to maintain the favourable vision.