Antioxidants fail to protect against AMD

An Australian study has concluded that dietary antioxidants have little or no effect on protecting patients against the onset of age-related macular degeneration.

Researchers at the Centre for Eye Research Australia and the University of Melbourne analysed the evidence to examine the role of dietary antioxidants or dietary supplements in the primary prevention of AMD.

They identified 12 studies (nine prospective studies and three randomised controlled trials) involving 149,203 people in their analysis.

Report authors wrote: 'Previous studies and reviews have largely focused on the role of dietary antioxidants and supplements in the secondary prevention of AMD - that is, preventing progression to late AMD in people with signs of early disease. Our analysis examined the role of dietary antioxidants and supplements in primary prevention and found that a range of dietary antioxidants, including vitamins A, C, and E, zinc, lutein and zeaxanthin, carotene, carotene, cryptoxanthin and lycopene, have little or no effect with the exception of vitamin E, which had a modest borderline protective association.'