Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects the retina and leads to a progressive loss of vision. In the United States, some form of AMD affects an estimated 20 million people. AMD is predicted to increase dramatically in the West, rising to about 288 million worldwide by 2040.  It is the main cause of irreversible blindness in those over age 50 in the Western World. There is no effective treatment for this condition today.

A little-known form of self-care has shown, in one patient so far, that it has the potential to contribute significantly to eye health in people with intermediate dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This self-care approach is easy for patients to self-administer; has no harmful side effects; and is remarkably inexpensive. In addition, it does not require that the patient forego any other treatment presently recommended by ophthalmologists.

When she was 82 years old, Amber (a pseudonym used to protect the patient’s privacy) was referred by her ophthalmologist to a vitreoretinal surgeon and macular disease specialist for evaluation of, and treatment for, intermediate stage dry AMD in both eyes.  She also had fatty deposits called drusen in both eyes. Drusen do not cause AMD but are associated with an increased risk of the disease. And it is well-known that drusen themselves worsen vision. Drusen directly relate to the disease state. Their amount; location behind the macular region of the retina; and size, play an important role in the severity of the disease.

But Amber did more than simply follow the recommended standard plan for AMD.  She took her eye health into her own hands and used a form of bioenergetic self-care.  Her ophthalmologist and retinal specialist were, at first, appropriately skeptical.  But they were also open-minded.  They and other ophthalmologists who have seen what Amber has achieved in the past two years have described the results of her self-care in one word—Amazing.

The regression or disappearance of drusen is associated with improvement in AMD. And this is exactly what Amber has experienced, apparently from using her bioenergetic form of self-care. These results clearly indicate a need to do a pilot study of this approach to determine if it can benefit others.

THE PATIENT’S RESULTS

Amber was in overall good health.  She was taking no medications; exercised regularly; never smoked; drank wine with dinner occasionally; had normal blood pressure, cholesterol levels and weight. She was treated successfully for breast cancer at age 67 and ovarian cancer at age 33. In April 2021, the initial Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) macula images taken at the clinic confirmed the presence of intermediate dry AMD in both eyes. In July 2021, tests showed that AMD was not progressing.  This in itself was good news because the disease gradually gets worse in almost all patients.

From July 2021 through October 2022, surprisingly, the retinal images showed an improvement in her condition. By January 2023, the drusen were gone in one eye and greatly diminished in the other eye. Continued improvement was evident in retinal images taken in April 2023 and even more so in July 2023.  Her retinal images show not only the disappearance of drusen in both eyes, but also, improvement in the health of adjacent retinal tissue.

WHAT SELF-CARE DID THIS PATIENT USE?

The patient used a form of bioenergetic medicine pioneered in the 1930s and 1940s by Wilhelm Reich, MD. Reich originally thought he was dealing with “bioelectricity,” but his laboratory and human experiments revealed the existence of a non-electromagnetic specific biological energy, which he termed orgone energy. Reich was a 20^th Century Western physician-scientist whose experimental work made bioenergy demonstrable, measurable and usable.  Concepts such as prana in Ayurvedic medicine; chi in Traditional Chinese medicine; and elan vital and entelechy in vitalist traditions are inklings of the existence of such a specific biological energy.

Reich’s work was not accepted in his own time, but times change.  It is not unusual for new knowledge that challenges the status quo to be marginalized or rejected. It was not until 75 years after his death that Newton’s work was accepted, for example. And it took 80 years for quantum mechanics to move from hypothesis to practical use. Now half the world’s economy depends on quantum science. Reich’s approach is little known today but is used worldwide by physicians in many nations.

Image on real time color monitor taken by Thermovision 900SW (shortwave) & TE (thermoelectrically cooled) infrared camera. (Sensitive to 0.1 degrees C).  Blue color is cold; yellow is room temperature; red is hot. Present with former BBC producer, Jon East, were a physician in general practice; an infrared camera engineer; and two physicians who specialize in using infrared cameras for medical purposes. White shape on left is the hand of a healer being tested in the BBC segment.  The white shape on right is Jon East holding the red funnel which is at least 4C hotter than the ambient room temperature with no heat source present to account for the high temperature.  The infrared image shows the energy radiating from the hand of the healer, and also, from the funnel. The visible radiating energy is an example of what is occurring energetically when the patient uses the bioenergy funnel on her eyes.

Reich was not alone in his era in studying bioenergy. Experimental work in bioenergy has a long history: from the late 1930s by HS Burr and FCS Northrop at Yale; followed by Reich’s student Dr. Bernard Grad at McGill in the 1950s to the 1990s; to Robert O. Becker in the 1970s and James L Oschmann in the 1980s into the 2000s; to present work by Prof-Dr Jorgos Kavouras in Germany. There are many other examples that could be cited. Fritjof Capra, PhD, a physicist, systems theorist, and deep ecologist has a more accurate assessment of Reich.  In his best-selling book, The Turning Point, he wrote, “Wilhelm Reich was a pioneer of the paradigm shift. He has brilliant ideas, a cosmic perspective, and a holistic and dynamic worldview that far surpassed the science of his time and was not appreciated by his contemporaries.”

BIOENERGETIC TECHNIQUE USED

With electricity, it is well-known that some materials are insulators and others are conductors. With the non-electromagnetic bioenergy, metal attracts the energy but immediately repels it.  Organic materials attract the energy but bind it. A flow of physical, non-electromagnetic energy is created through the use of alternating layers of organic and metallic materials, with the outer layer being organic and the inner layer metallic.

Amber uses a funnel made of galvanized steel. The outside of the funnel, which must be ferromagnetic, is wrapped with the layered organic-metallic material. She used three alternating layers of cotton and steel wool. The alternating layers create a flow of energy toward the inside of the funnel. When the funnel opening is held up to the eyes, one at a time, the energy can be felt as heat or warmth. This subjective impression can be confirmed objectively by using technology such as thermal infrared imaging cameras.

For the first nine months or so, Amber held the funnel close to the eyes, one eye at a time, for one minute at a time, once daily. During this period, her condition was stable. The disease did not get worse. From that point on, she began using the funnel one eye at a time, for one minute at a time, twice daily. This approach coincided with increasing improvement in her condition evident at each subsequent visit to the retinal specialist.

She has been doing this regularly since the diagnosis of AMD was made and confirmed in April 2021. However, in July 2023, she returned to using the funnel one eye at a time, for one minute, once daily. This was done at the suggestion of her retinal specialist who thought that, because the drusen were gone, less irradiation of the eyes with orgone energy might be necessary. Future retinal scans will reveal if this change has an impact on her AMD.

Her retinal images clearly show that, as of July 2023, the drusen are gone in both eyes. In addition, Amber’s images show that the retinal tissue is healthier in later images than in the earliest ones. This just does not happen and it is why ophthalmologists and other medical professionals who know about this case all use one word to describe it—Amazing. Amber has followed the standard recommended treatment regimen with one major variable: the use of a bioenergetic technique that assists the body’s natural healing functions. It seems likely that this self-care variable accounts for the improvement in her condition.

CONCLUSION

At present, there are no effective treatments for dry AMD. The form of bioenergetic self-care Amber used appears to be associated with a dramatic improvement in eye health for this patient as evident in retinal images taken by experts. This bioenergetic approach could be of significant value for many patients with dry AMD. A pilot study seems warranted in light of the significant disappearance of drusen and improved quality of vision in this patient. The major obstacles in the way of considering further research into this approach are not medical. They arise from our Western worldview in general; the assumptions of contemporary mechanistic-reductionistic biomolecular medicine in particular; and a near-complete lack of knowledge about bioenergetic functions in the human organism. What can remove these obstacles? An open mind; scientific curiosity; and a desire to improve the health and lives of millions of patients.

Does anyone have the courage to conduct a study to see if Amber’s amazing results become evident in other women and men with dry intermediate AMD?