Age-Related Eye Disease Study II, or AREDS II, is a study that looked at how nutrients affect eyesight. The initial study, completed in 2001, showed that high levels of antioxidants sometimes reduced the risk of developing blindness by 25 percent. There were some problems found after the study though and the subsequent study looked at those issues.
Eye diseases are some of the most debilitating. Almost a million people in the United States are blind and around 90% of these are elderly. There are several different reasons someone might end up with an eye disease. Some people are born blind due to defects during the gestation period. Others are caused by diabetes or eye injury. However, most appear to be associated with aging, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts.
There are treatments available but they are limited in their effectiveness and are only good for a certain range of disease. One of these is laser surgery; this is effective in reducing the threat of blindness. However, it is also too expensive for many people and it comes with some of its own hazards. Normally the side effects are not serious, however, they are common. These include reduced night vision and loss of peripheral vision as well as a worsening of visual acuity and sometimes eye hemorrhages.
AREDS, the initial Age-Related Eye Disease Study was finished and released in 2001. This study was begun to review risk factors and history associated with cataracts and AMD. Another purpose was to analyze whether higher doses of antioxidants might affect AMD or cataracts. They looked at a combination of vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, and beta-carotene.
Researchers from the first study found that their formula could lessen the chance of blindness by 25%, in people who were considered to be in a high risk category. This category included people who had serious AMD in one eye already, or who had a milder form in both eyes. This only helped people with AMD risk and had no effect on whether someone would get cataracts. This was exciting news, however, later studies showed that the beta-carotene was linked to a cancer risk. People who smoked, and also took beta-carotene, had a higher incident of lung cancer.
The second study, completed in May 2013, had several interesting findings. One of their goals was to attempt to find a substitute for beta-carotene in the original formula. They found that the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin could be substituted for beta-carotene without reducing the effectiveness of this formula. People at high risk for developing advanced AMD should consider taking the antioxidant combination to reduce their chance of blindness.
A lot of the elderly are already on various prescriptions. In addition to this they may use over-the-counter drugs or supplements. The high-dose supplements in this combination could interfere or cause some of these medications to lose their effectiveness.
There are definitely beneficial effects of laser surgery although this is expensive and can have complications. A safer alternative may be the formulation developed in the AREDS II study. The study confirmed that high levels of zinc and antioxidants reduced the risk of AMD. The study further showed that lutein and zeaxanthin could be substituted for beta-carotene with no reduction in benefits. Of course, before using any medication you should always consult your doctor.
Eye diseases are some of the most debilitating. Almost a million people in the United States are blind and around 90% of these are elderly. There are several different reasons someone might end up with an eye disease. Some people are born blind due to defects during the gestation period. Others are caused by diabetes or eye injury. However, most appear to be associated with aging, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts.
There are treatments available but they are limited in their effectiveness and are only good for a certain range of disease. One of these is laser surgery; this is effective in reducing the threat of blindness. However, it is also too expensive for many people and it comes with some of its own hazards. Normally the side effects are not serious, however, they are common. These include reduced night vision and loss of peripheral vision as well as a worsening of visual acuity and sometimes eye hemorrhages.
AREDS, the initial Age-Related Eye Disease Study was finished and released in 2001. This study was begun to review risk factors and history associated with cataracts and AMD. Another purpose was to analyze whether higher doses of antioxidants might affect AMD or cataracts. They looked at a combination of vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, and beta-carotene.
Researchers from the first study found that their formula could lessen the chance of blindness by 25%, in people who were considered to be in a high risk category. This category included people who had serious AMD in one eye already, or who had a milder form in both eyes. This only helped people with AMD risk and had no effect on whether someone would get cataracts. This was exciting news, however, later studies showed that the beta-carotene was linked to a cancer risk. People who smoked, and also took beta-carotene, had a higher incident of lung cancer.
The second study, completed in May 2013, had several interesting findings. One of their goals was to attempt to find a substitute for beta-carotene in the original formula. They found that the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin could be substituted for beta-carotene without reducing the effectiveness of this formula. People at high risk for developing advanced AMD should consider taking the antioxidant combination to reduce their chance of blindness.
A lot of the elderly are already on various prescriptions. In addition to this they may use over-the-counter drugs or supplements. The high-dose supplements in this combination could interfere or cause some of these medications to lose their effectiveness.
There are definitely beneficial effects of laser surgery although this is expensive and can have complications. A safer alternative may be the formulation developed in the AREDS II study. The study confirmed that high levels of zinc and antioxidants reduced the risk of AMD. The study further showed that lutein and zeaxanthin could be substituted for beta-carotene with no reduction in benefits. Of course, before using any medication you should always consult your doctor.
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