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Nutritional supplements claiming to improve eye health may be in breach of UK medicines legislation according to this month's Drugs and Therapeutics Bulletin.

The Which? publication’s editor Dr Ike Iheanacho said he was concerned about ‘promotional claims for some nutritional supplements’ aimed at people worried about macular degeneration.

‘Certain claims appear to be medicinal and, if so, would be in breach of UK medicines legislation. In particular, we have reported the claim that Viteyes can “slow macular degeneration” to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).’

Butterflies Healthcare, which distributes Viteyes in the UK, told Optician it was in the process of changing its packaging to comply with legislation, after having been contacted by the MHRA. Read its full comment here.

DTB said there is some evidence to support the use of a specific combination of antioxidant vitamins and zinc, the so-called AREDS formula, in specific groups of patients with macular degeneration (with advanced disease in one eye only).

This formula can be found in only a few products such as VisiVite Original Formula, Viteyes AREDS Formula and Ocuvite PreserVision.

Use of other nutritional supplements, or use in other groups of people, cannot be recommended. Advice to patients with macular degeneration includes stopping smoking, and eating plenty of green vegetables.

Dr Iheanacho concluded: ‘Doctors may come under pressure to prescribe nutritional supplements as a result of claims by manufacturers. This is despite the fact that their use of such products on prescription is not supported by some primary care trusts.

‘In 2004 nearly 16,000 prescriptions were dispensed for products such as ICaps, Ocivite PreserVision and VisionACE at a net drug cost to the NHS of over £121,000.

“We look forward to a response from the MHRA but note that manufacturers based outside the UK can continue to make inappropriate claims for their supplements because they fall outside the MHRA's jurisdiction.’
 
DTB is published by consumer organisation Which? and is wholly independent of industry, government, regulatory authorities and the medical establishment.

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