AMD and Dietary Supplements Study
Dietary Supplements Reduce Risk of Vision Loss from AMD

See also Good Nutrition Promotes Healthy Eyes

What has been called the first effective treatment to slow the progression of age-related macular degeneration was announced by the National Eye Institute, after a multiyear study of nearly 5,000 people ages 55-80. According to the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS), people at high risk of developing advanced stages of age-related macular degeneration were able to significantly reduce that risk by using a combination of antioxidants and zinc supplements. The combined antioxidants/zinc supplement used in the study contained:

• Vitamin C: 500 milligrams (mg)
• Vitamin E: 400 IU
• Beta-Carotene: 15 mg
• Zinc, as zinc oxide: 80 mg
• Copper, as copper oxide: 2 mg

At the time of this study, lutein was not as widely recognized as a critical antioxidant for the eyes. It was not tested in this study but has been shown to be important.

Major findings include:

• People at high risk of developing advances stages of AMD lowered their risk by about 25 percent when treated with a highdose combination of vitamins and zinc;
• For that same group-people with intermediate or advanced AMD in one eye but not the other eye- the nutrients reduced the risk of vision loss caused by advanced AMD by about 19 percent;
• Participants with either no AMD or early AMD had no apparent benefit from the nutrients;
• The vitamins did not appear to have an effect on the development of cataracts.

"These nutrients will delay the progression to advanced AMD in people who are at high risk-those with intermediate AMD in one or both eyes, or those with advanced AMD in one eye already," said Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Eye Institute.

Last Updated: Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 at 18:40:26 Back to top