Age-Related Eye Disease Study

The Age-Related Eye Disease Study was a clinical trialsponsored by the National Eye Institute, one of the National Institutes of Healthin the United States. The study was designed to

• investigate the natural history and risk factorsof age-related macular degeneration(AMD) and cataracts, and
• evaluate the effects of high doses of antioxidantsand zincon the progression of the two conditions in those with AMD

The study of 3600 individuals for an average of 6.3 years concluded that high levels of antioxidants and zinc can reduce some people's risk of developing advanced AMD by about 25 percent. Those that benefited from the dietary supplements included those with intermediate-stage AMD and those with advanced AMD in one eye only. The supplements had no significant effect on the development or progression of cataracts. "High levels" in this case were defined to be:

• 500 milligramsof vitamin C;
• 400 international unitsof vitamin E;
• 15 milligrams of beta-carotene(or 25,000 international units of vitamin A);
• 80 milligrams of the dietary mineralzinc, in the form of zinc oxide; and
• two milligrams of copperas cupric oxide, added to prevent copper deficiency anemia, a condition associated with high levels of zinc intake.

The results were reported in the October 2001 issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

Bausch & Lombwas a collaborator in the study, and perhaps not coincidentally, provides vitamins pre-packaged with this formulation, as do other manufacturers.

External links

• NEI's websiteabout the study
• Summary of the study

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age-Related+Eye+Disease+Study Wikipedia article Age-Related Eye Disease Study.