Carotenoid-Based Nutritional Interventions Against Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Beyond AREDS
Paul S. Bernstein
Moran Eye Center
University of Utah School of Medicine
Salt Lake City, Utah USA
Current treatments for advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
have limited effectiveness, and the majority of treated patients still
end up legally blind in the affected eye. Thus there is considerable
interest in preventative strategies to slow or halt the progression of
AMD before significant visual loss has occurred. The recent AREDS
study demonstrated that antioxidant supplementation with high doses of
zinc, vitamin E, vitamin C, and beta-carotene can decrease the
likelihood of AMD progression and visual loss in patients with the
intermediate stages of AMD. While AREDS has had significant impact on
the management of AMD, it is just the first step since formulations
need to be optimized and other nutrients need to be examined. The most
promising of these other nutrients include lutein and zeaxanthin,
xanthophyll carotenoids derived from green, orange, and yellow fruits
and vegetables that are specifically concentrated in the macula of the
human eye that may protect against AMD by acting as antioxidants and
photoprotectants. Clinical and basic science studies on the protective
roles and biochemistry of lutein and zeaxanthin in the macula will be
presented with special emphasis on a novel noninvasive method to
measure macular pigment levels developed at the University of Utah
using resonance Raman spectroscopy.
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