Nutritional supplements could help slow sight loss in the elderly

Over five years, researchers from Queen’s University in Belfast studied 400 elderly people with early age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Half were given a nutritional supplement containing carotenoids - rich antioxidants found in fruit and vegetables – and the rest were given a placebo.

The researchers found that a high intake of carotenoids helped preserve the macular pigments of the eyes, slowing down the progression from early AMD to late AMD. In contrast, the macular pigments of those in the placebo group declined steadily, they said.

Lead researcher professor Usha Chakravarthy, consultant ophthalmic surgeon at the Royal Hospital in Belfast, said: ‘Late AMD causes severe sight loss and has huge economic impact both in terms of the effects of sight loss itself and in terms of the expensive treatments that are needed to deal with the condition.

‘Further research is needed to confirm these findings and to identify the numbers needed to prevent one case from progressing from early to late AMD,’ he added.

The study results were presented last Friday at the Waterford Institute of Technology in Belfast.

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