Age-Related Eye Disease Study

There are no approved pharmacologic treatments for atrophic AMD. The Age-Related Eye Disease Study showed that a supplement containing ascorbic acid 500 mg, vitamin E 400 IU, beta carotene 15 mg, zinc oxide 80 mg, and cupric oxide 2 mg reduced the rate of clinical progression of all types of AMD by 28% in patients with at least intermediate macular degeneration. No benefit was seen in patients with earlier stages of age-related maculopathy however, the duration of the study may have been insufficient to detect this benefit.25... 

Snodderly, D. M. et al. (2004). Macular pigment measurements by heterochromatic flicker photometry in older subjects The carotenoids and age-related eye disease study. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 45 531-538. 

Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group (2007), The relationship of dietary carotenoid and vitamin A, E, and C intake with age-related macular degeneration in a case-control study, AREDS Report No. 22, Arch. Ophthalmol. 125 1225-1232. 

AREDS Research Group (1999). The age-related eye disease study (AREDS) Design implications, AREDS Report No. 1. Contr. Clin. Trials 20 573-600. 

Mares, J. A., T. L. LaRowe et al. (2006). Predictors of optical density of lutein and zeaxanthin in retinas of older women in the carotenoids in age-related eye disease study, an ancillary study of the women s health initiative. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 84(5) 1107-1122. 

LaRowe, TL, Mares, JA, Snodderly, DM, Klein, ML, Wooten, BR, and Chappell, R, 2008. Macular pigment density and age-related maculopathy in the Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease Study. An ancillary study of the women s health initiative. Ophthalmology 115, 876-883 e871. 

Moeller, SM, Parekh, N, Tinker, L, Ritenbaugh, C, Blodi, B, Wallace, RB, and Mares, JA, 2006. Associations between intermediate age-related macular degeneration and lutein and zeaxanthin in the Carotenoids in Age-related Eye Disease Study (CAREDS) Ancillary study of the Women s Health Initiative. Arch... 

Clinical trials have also been conducted to study the effect of the antioxidants on the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and vision loss. The Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group recommends supplements of zinc and antioxidants for adults at risk for developing AMD. However, the group... 

The Medical Research Council/British Heart Foundation study controlled the activity of antioxidants in the protection of a large group of patients (10,629) suffering from coronary disease who were treated daily with vitamin supplementation (vitamin E 600 mg, vitamin C 250 mg, and /3-carotene 20 mg). Similar high dosages were used in Age-Related Eye Disease Study (vitamin E 400 Ul, vitamin C 500mg, and /3-carotene 15 mg). In both studies the results were not positive. In these last two studies as in any of the studies reported in Table 9 the OS was measured to determine the real need of an antioxidant therapy. 

Cataracts + Vit E + C + p-carotene Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group, 2001... 

Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group. 2001. A randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial of high-dose supplementation with vitamins C and E and beta carotene for age-related cataract and vision loss AREDS report no. 9. Arch. Ophthalmol. 119 1439-1452. 

AREDS, the Age-Related Eye Disease Study. U.S. National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, nei.nih.gov/amd. 

National Eye Institute, Age-related eye disease study 2 (AREDS2). Available at http// clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00345176. 

The recent Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) found a reduction in the risk of progression of some types of age-related macular degeneration for those randomized to receive high doses of vitamins C (500 mg), E (4(X) lU), P-carotene (15 mg), cupric oxide (2 mg), and zinc (80 mg). Interestingly, zinc has been found to be neuroprotective in a rat model of glaucoma. The mechanism appears to be mediated by heat shock proteins and may represent a novel treatment strategy for glaucoma. 

The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) 2 is currently underway and is investigating the effect of supplementation with L and Z, with and without omega-3... 

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