A patient with diabetes mellitus had abducens
palsy-induced diplopia for one and half months and recovered completely from the
condition after only 4 sessions of acupuncture treatment, according to a case
report published in the journal Global Advances in Health and Medicine.
Abducens nerve palsy, also called sixth nerve palsy is a
condition associated with the dysfunction of the cranial (VI) nerve, which innervates
the lateral rectus muscle, responsible for turning eyeball outward from nose. Any
condition that causes damage of blood vessels close to abducens nerve in the
brain, such as stroke, diabetic neuropathy etc, may cause abducens nerve palsy.
When abducens palsy occurs, a person’s eye begins to point inward toward the
nose, often resulting in double vision. Although a double vision is not a
serious problem it can significantly impact the person’s quality of life,
making simple everyday tasks, such as reading, walking and driving, difficult
to manage. Normally abducens palsy, in many patients resolves itself on its own
once the underlying condition is treated. However, if the underlying cause is
chronic e.g. diabetes, its manifestation may last much longer.
Recently Dr. Do and colleagues in the United States
reported a case study of acupuncture treatment of abducens palsy. A 58-year-old
male patient with diabetes mellitus had a left diplopia and was diagnosed as “isolated
left sixth cranial nerve palsy”, and was treated with an eye patch and
temporary prism. One and half months after onset of diplopia the patient felt double
vision getting worse and a stabling clusters of pain behind both eyes. Then he
was treated with acupuncture at the following acupoints, LI4, LV3, Taiyang,
SP6, ST36, GB32, and GB20 for 30 mins each time for 4 times within 11 weeks. After
last acupuncture treatment the patient stopped using prism and believed his
sight had returned to normal.
The authors suggest that acupuncture helps reduce
recovery rate due to abducens palsy.
Reference:
Do A
et al., acupuncture treatment of diplopia associated with abducens palsy:
a case report. Glob
Adv Health Med. Jul 2014; 3(4): 32–34. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4104568/
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