Lutein/zeaxanthin again linked to lower AMD risk

Supplementing with lutein and zeaxanthin has once again been associated with a lower risk for age-related macular degeneration, according to a new report published in the September issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

The research was undertaken as part of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) - a major clinical trial sponsored by the National Eye Institute under the umbrella of the National Institutes of Health. The AREDS Research Group assessed 4,519 participants between the ages of 60 to 80 years when they enrolled in 1992 through 1998.

"Higher dietary intake of lutein/zeaxanthin was independently associated with decreased likelihood of having neovascular AMD, geographic atrophy, and large or extensive intermediate drusen," concluded the authors.

"A number of diet-based compounds concentrated in the retina may have the capacity to modulate exogenous and endogenous defense and repair systems in response to oxidative stress and inflammation," explained the researchers in the study.

This link between dietary nutrients and AMD has been investigated in numerous recent publications. The nutrients include lutein and zeaxanthin, omega-3 fatty acids, provitamin A carotenoids, vitamin A, retinol, alpha-tocopherol and vitamin C.