06/08/2024
Νεότερα στοιχεία για Ηλικιακή Εκφύλιση Ωχράς Κηλίδας ( Υγρή και ξηρή) ... και έπονται και άλλα...
Can supplements help slow sight down sight loss in age-related macular degeneration (AMD)? Supplements which follow the AREDS2 formula are often recommended for those in the early stages of AMD.
But, new research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reveals that taking a daily vitamin and mineral supplement could significantly slow down the progression of geographic atrophy (GA), otherwise known as late-stage dry AMD.
The study, led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US, shows widely available AREDS2 supplements, containing vitamins C and E, lutein, zeaxanthin, zinc and copper, could slow down the progression of sight loss in GA patients by 55% over an average of three years.
AREDS2 supplements take their name from two large clinical trials, AREDS (Age-Related Eye Disease Study) and AREDS2, carried out by the NIH National Eye Institute between 1992 and 2012.
In the new analysis, researchers reviewed the retinal scans of 1,209 people who were part of the original studies into AREDS and found that AREDS2 supplements can slow disease progression in advanced AMD. The effect was especially noticeable when the damage, or GA, was outside the central macula (fovea). Since GA often starts outside the fovea, early use of AREDS2 supplements may delay progression into the fovea, preserving central vision.
“We’ve known for a long time that AREDS2 supplements help slow the progression from intermediate to late AMD,” says Tiarnan Keenan, lead author of the study. “Our analysis shows that taking AREDS2 supplements can also slow disease progression in people with late dry AMD. These findings support the continued use of AREDS2 supplements by people with late dry AMD.”
Co-author Pearse Keane, a consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital, adds: "Although AREDS2 supplements are used widely in the UK, we don’t typically recommend them to patients who already have late AMD in both eyes. I think this paper will lead us to recommend their use more widely in people with late AMD. This is exciting because it is a cheap, safe, and well tolerated treatment.”
Geraldine Hoad, head of research grants at the Macular Society, says the findings are “encouraging”.
She says: “Until now AREDS2 supplements weren’t thought to be effective for those with late-stage dry AMD. By slowing vision loss, they could help people stay independent longer and improve their quality of life and we would welcome the results being confirmed in a clinical trial."
