We recently published two papers from the team at Aston University looking at the influence of nutrition and nutritional supplements upon the progression of age related macular degeneration.

The first article - click here to read it - included the following important points;

  • Nutrients that have been investigated as possibly influencing the course of AMD include zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin C, vitamin E and the carotenoids which have vitamin A activity and include the diet-originated macular pigment xanthophylls lutein and zeaxanthin (along with meso-zeaxanthin converted at retinal level)
  • The AREDS formulation of vitamin C 500mg, vitamin E 400IU, b-carotene 15mg, and zinc (zinc oxide 80mg and cupric oxide 2mg) showed a 25% risk reduction in progression to advanced AMD over five years in patients with intermediate AMD (extensive intermediate drusen in one or both eyes, one or more large drusen in at least one eye, or non-subfoveal geographic atrophy in one eye) or advanced AMD (subfoveal geographic atrophy or choroidal neovascular membrane) in one eye.
  • The AREDS formulation showed no effect in preventing the development of large drusen in participants who had small drusen at baseline.
  • Because of the high dosage of zinc, and the inclusion of beta-carotene (linked with lung cancer in smokers), some eye professionals became concerned with the safety of the formulation and were reluctant to advise patients to use it.
  • AREDS2 found that adding lutein and zeaxanthin to the original formula did not further reduce the risk of progression to advanced AMD. However, a subset of participants who took the AREDS formulation with beta-carotene substituted out for lutein and zeaxanthin, had their risk of progression to advanced AMD reduced by 18% compared to those participants who took the AREDS formulation that contained beta-carotene but no lutein and zeaxanthin. In addition, participants who had ≤ 0.823 mg per day dietary intake of lutein and zeaxanthin at the start of the study, but who took the AREDS 2 formulation, were 25% less likely to develop advanced AMD compared with participants with similar dietary intake who did not take the supplementation

The second article - click here to read it - included the following points;

  • lutein and zeaxanthin are the most beneficial nutrients for AMD
  • lutein and zeaxanthin can only be obtained in the diet (are not synthesised by the body)
  • the most lutein and zeaxanthin rich foods are spinach, kale and eggs
  • the AREDS2 formula is the only clinically proven supplement
  • the AREDS2 formula has only been found to be beneficial when the disease is at a certain stage

It is important for you to be familiar with these reference sources before your discussion. You may also wish to familiarise yourself with the AREDS2 paper by clicking here.

Once you have read through the source material, please attempt the six multiple choice questions on the following page.