Acupuncture is regularly used for a variety of eye disorders including glaucoma, optic nerve atrophy, macular degeneration and other related issues.  A recent meta analysis (looking at a group of studies collectively) was conducted to help establish proper clinical guidelines for the use of acupuncture with optic nerve atrophy.  Researchers from the Department of Ophthalmology at the General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army in Beijing recently analyzed 13 studies related to optic nerve atrophy, which included 1180 patients.

Looking at aspects of visual acuity, visual field and P-VEP (pattern visual evoked potentials) the researchers found that acupuncture alone and acupuncture with medicine significantly outperformed medication alone for optic nerve atrophy.