The Effect of Acupuncture on Pupillary Dynamics / 日本温泉気候物理医学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

Although the clinical usefulness of acupuncture has been widely accepted, quantitative analysis of the effects of acupuncture had received little attention. We therefore examined the pupillary dynamics before and after acupuncture treatment on 30 patients with tension type headaches and 15 healthy volunteers. We used open-loop video pupillography, which enables objective measurement of autonomic nervous functions, and obtained the results below.<br>1) In patients with tension type headaches, acupuncture reduced the pupillary area before photic stimulation (A1) (10min after: p<0.01, immediately after and 20min after: p<0.05) and increased maximum velocity (VC) and acceleration (AC) of constriction (p<0.01). However, no significant changes were observed in maximum velocity of dilatation (VD).<br>2) In healthy volunteers, acupuncture transiently increased VC alone (p<0.05), and no significant changes were observed in other parameters.<br>The above data suggested that open-loop video pupillography is a useful method to quantitatively analyze the effect of acupuncture on pupillary dynamics and that parasympathetic nervous functions play an important role in the effect of acupuncture in the patients with tension type headaches. Also, it is possible that acupuncture may affect the central nervous system at a higher level of the medulla spinalis.