- Dry age-related macular degeneration is a potentially blinding eye disease that affects millions of Americans.
- Over-the-counter antioxidant supplement combinations appear to be effective in preventing disease progression, even at an advanced stage known as geographic atrophy.
- There is no cure for AMD, and current pharmaceutical options can be cumbersome and expensive.
Widely available antioxidant supplement combinations appear to slow the progression of dry aging skin. Macular degeneration (AMD).
Dry AMD is an eye disease that is common in people over the age of 55 and causes blurred vision.
As the name suggests, this condition occurs naturally with age and is more prevalent in older adults. In some cases, it has little effect on vision, but in other cases it can progress to “vision loss” which can cause more severe vision problems.
Recent estimates suggest that dry AMD accounts for approximately
There is no treatment to reverse the damage caused by dry AMD, but new evidence suggests that a combination of over-the-counter medications may help. Antioxidant supplements Even in people with geographic atrophy, the progression of the disease can be significantly slowed.
In an article published in this month’s journal OphthalmologyResearchers at the National Eye Institute found that taking antioxidant supplements slowed progression by up to 55% over three years compared to a placebo.
“Geographic atrophy is approximately
Theodore Ren, MD“This study is exciting because it actually confirms some of our suspicions about vitamin supplementation for this particular form of progressive macular degeneration,” Dr. Schneider, an associate professor of ophthalmology at the Stanford University School of Medicine who was not involved in the study, told Healthline.
The researchers conducted a post-hoc analysis of two major clinical trials that previously investigated the link between antioxidant supplements and the progression of dry AMD.
Initial studies found that taking this supplement combination reduced the risk of progression to intermediate to advanced AMD by one quarter. But there was no suggestion that the supplements slowed progression in people who had already progressed to geographic atrophy, the most severe form of dry AMD.
Keenan and his team
“Our study indicates that oral supplements play an important role even in the presence of geographic atrophy,” he told Healthline.
Specifically, over a three-year period, the researchers found that eyes with geographic atrophy receiving antioxidants had disease progression of 39.8 microns compared to 73.2 microns in eyes receiving a placebo, meaning that simply taking antioxidant supplements reduced progression by 55%.
The majority, Approximately 90%About 10% of AMD cases are dry. Wet AMD.
Dry AMD is associated with the presence of large yellow protein deposits under the retina. DrusenThese deposits damage a small but important area behind the eyeball. MaculaThis allows the eyes to accurately focus on objects in front of them. Dry AMD can, but does not always, progress to geographic atrophy, which can cause permanent vision loss.
“Imagine having a dead pixel on a camera or a computer screen. The area of the dead pixel slowly expands over time. This is essentially what patients with geographic atrophy experience: part of the retina is dead or non-functioning, and that area expands in a kind of concentric rings,” Ren said.
Sometimes wet AMD can occur. Wet AMD, or neovascular AMD, is defined by the presence of abnormal blood vessels under the retina, which can cause swelling and bleeding. This bleeding and fluid buildup is what gives the disease its “wet” name.
Wet AMD is more severe, progresses more rapidly, and always affects central vision in the macula. It is always considered an advanced stage of AMD.
At present, the AREDS2 antioxidant supplement appears to be effective only for dry AMD, but not for wet AMD.
“People with geographic atrophy should benefit from AREDS2 formulation supplementation. Additionally, our previous research has found that a healthy diet (particularly a Mediterranean-type dietary pattern) and avoidance of smoking are strongly associated with slowing the rate of atrophy progression. Therefore, a healthy lifestyle is important alongside supplementation,” Keenan said.
A combination of antioxidant supplements called AREDS2 contains vitamin A, vitamin C, copper, zinc, lutein and zeaxanthin, and can help slow the progression of dry AMD, even at the advanced stage known as geographic atrophy.
A new study found that people who took an antioxidant combination drug experienced 55% less disease progression than those who took a placebo.
Supplements are not recommended for wet AMD, a less common but more severe form of AMD.
