Lutein May Stop Age-Related Blindness

Lutein May Stop Age-Related Blindness

UTRECHT, Netherlands--In the November issue of Investigative Ophthalmology& Visual Science (41: 3322-3326, 2000), researchers found that luteinsupplementation significantly increased eye health. During a 12-week study,eight subjects took 10 mg of lutein per day with plasma lutein levels measuredat four-week intervals. At the first four-week test, the mean blood level oflutein increased from 0.18 micromilliliters to 0.90 micromilliliters, where itstayed throughout the study. For weeks after the study concluded, blood levelswere still high at 0.28 micromilliliters.

Macular pigment density showed a mean increase of 4.1 percent throughspectral reflectance analysis (degenerative macular pigment causes blindness inthe elderly). The researchers, led by Tos Berendschot from the UniversityMedical Center here, concluded that lutein supplementation significantlyincreased the density of macular pigment. For additional information, visit www.iovs.org.