Age-related macular degeneration tagged posts

Study confirms Benefit of Supplements for Slowing Age-related Macular Degeneration

Dr. Emily Chew conducts an eye exam

The Age-Related Eye Disease Studies (AREDS and AREDS2) established that dietary supplements can slow progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of blindness in older Americans. In a new report, scientists analyzed 10 years of AREDS2 data. They show that the AREDS2 formula, which substituted antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin for betacarotene, not only reduces risk of lung cancer due to beta-carotene, but is also more effective at reducing risk of AMD progression, compared to the original formula. A report on the study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, published in JAMA Ophthalmology.

“Because beta-carotene increased the risk of lung cancer for current smokers in two NIH-supported studies, our goal with AREDS2 was to create an equally ef...

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Dried Goji Berries may provide Protection Against Age-Related Vision Loss

Study finds a small serving of goji berries increased protective pigments in the eye that may help prevent or delay the development of age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss in older adults. (Photo/ UC Regents)

Regularly eating a small serving of dried goji berries may help prevent or delay the development of age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, in healthy middle-aged people, according to a small, randomized trial conducted at the University of California, Davis.

AMD is the leading cause of vision loss in older people, and is estimated to affect more than 11 million in the United States and 170 million globally.

“AMD affects your central field of vision and can affect your ability to read or recognize faces,” said Glenn Yiu, a co-author of the study...

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Poor Diet linked to Age-Related Macular Degeneration

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Diet patterns and the incidence of age-related macular degeneration in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. British Journal of Ophthalmology, 2019; bjophthalmol-2019-314813 DOI: 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2019-314813

Participants who ate a diet high in red and processed meat, fried food, refined grains and high-fat dairy were 3X more likely to develop an eye condition that damages the retina and affects a person’s central vision, according to the results of a study from the University at Buffalo.

The condition is called late-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is an irreversible condition that affects a person’s central vision, taking away their ability to drive, among other common daily activities.

“Treatment for late, neovascular AMD is invasive and expens...

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UCI researchers uncover evidence of Restored Vision in rats following Cell Transplant

The left side of the figure illustrates the retina transplantation procedure. The right side of the figure represents examples of orientation tuning curves recorded from three rats: a normal rat, a rat with a transplant and a rat with a degenerated retina (blind). Displayed below the tuning curves are the responses to sinusoidal grating stimuli. The response patterns indicate that neurons in the brains of transplant recipients are very similar to those of the rats with normal vision.

The left side of the figure illustrates the retina transplantation procedure. The right side of the figure represents examples of orientation tuning curves recorded from three rats: a normal rat, a rat with a transplant and a rat with a degenerated retina (blind). Displayed below the tuning curves are the responses to sinusoidal grating stimuli. The response patterns indicate that neurons in the brains of transplant recipients are very similar to those of the rats with normal vision.

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, have discovered that neurons located in the vision centers of the brains of blind rats functioned normally following fetal retina cell transplants, indicating the successful restoration of vision...

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