Geographic Atrophy and micronutritional supplements: A complex relationship.

Geographic Atrophy and micronutritional supplements: A complex relationship. J Fr Ophtalmol. 2019 Nov 10;: Authors: Desmettre T Abstract In 2019, the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) remains the basis for micronutritional supplement guidelines aiming to slow the progression of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and reduce the risk of neovascularization. However, for Geographic Atrophy (GA) patients specifically, there seem to be more arguments for prescribing micronutritional supplements for the prevention of neovascular complications than to slow the progression of the atrophy. The AREDS report 8 showed a significant decrease in AMD progression over a five-year follow-up associated with a formulation containing antioxidants and zinc. It is noteworthy that the protective effect that was demonstrated was mainly related to the risk of a neovascularization and that the AREDS did not really demonstrate a protective effect that would slow the progression of GA. The 2013 AREDS II results have led to a change in the AREDS formulation. Nevertheless, the replacement of beta-carotene by lutein and zeaxanthine and the addition of Omega-3 did not add any further evidence for a protective effect on GA. Furthermore, the AREDS study used color photographs rather than fundus autofluorescence or OCT to assess the presence or the evolution of patches of atrophy. Over the last 10 years, it has been shown that OCT is far more accurate than colo...
Source: Journal Francais d Ophtalmologie - Category: Opthalmology Tags: J Fr Ophtalmol Source Type: research