Efeito da acupuntura na pressão intraocular e secreção lacrimal em equinos

Abstract

Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese therapy in which the needle stimulation of specific points on the body aims at therapeutic and homeostatic effects. The technique is used by health professionals in different modalities of human and veterinary medicine. In ophthalmology, acupuncture helps as a conventional or adjuvant therapy to numerous eye disorders, including myopia, strabismus, dry eye, and cataracts.The visual system of equine is of great importance for their survival, since these animals depend on vision for the performance of their routine activities such as food selection, water intake, socialization, sport and self-protection. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of acupuncture on tear production and intraocular pressure in horses. Ten healthy horses, females and males, with ages varying between eight months and nine years were used. Schirmer's I test and applanation tonometry were used to evaluate the basal tear production (TP) and the intraocular pressure (IOP) of both eyes. The measurements were performed immediately before the insertion of the needles (T0) and five (T5), 15 (T15), 30 (T30) and 60 (T60) minutes and 24 (T24) hours after a 20-minutes acupuncture session. Mean values of the two eyes were analyzed over time. TP increased in 50% of animals in T5, T15 and T24, 30% of animals in T30 and 40% of animals in T60, with an increase of up to 8.5 mm/min in T15 and T60. In addition, there was a significant difference between T24 and T30 (p = 0,0128), with a 14.1% increase in TP at T24. Regarding IOP, we observed that 50% of the animals suffered a reduction in pressure at T5 and T30, 20% a reduction at T15, 60% at T60 and 70% of the animals showed a reduction at T24. Stimulation of acupoints related to the visual system was able to increase tear production and decrease intraocular pressure in healthy horses. Thus, we suggest that acupuncture is a technique that can bring benefits to horses with diseases that alter these parameters, either when acupuncture is used alone or as an adjunct in conventional therapeutic protocols.