Age related macular degeneration is a common eye condition that causes damage to the retina and is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly.
There are two main types of macular degeneration: dry (atrophic) and wet (neovascular).
Alpha-lipoic acid is popular antioxidant that has been studied for age related macular degeneration. The benefit of this most recent study was to determine if alpha lipoic acid would benefit the dry form of age related macular degeneration by testing for superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and vision tests.
The results were published in The Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine.
Here are the study details
– 100 patients with age related macular degeneration were enrolled
– Age of patients was 60 to 83 years old
– Blood levels of the antioxidant Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) were tested
Here are the main results
– After three months Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) increased from 156.48 units per milliliter to 189.53 units per milliliter
– Lipoic acid increased contrast sensitivity at middle and low spatial frequency
– Lipoic acid increased the Chinese-Version Low Vision Quality of Life was observed
Here are more studies related to eye health.
Here is what the authors had to say
In conclusion, Lipoic Acid treatment can significantly elevate the Superoxide dismutase activity and improve the visual quality of dry Age Related Macular Degeneration patients, suggesting that Lipoic Acid may be an effective strategy for reducing the occurrence or promoting recovery of macular degeneration.
Take away message
The results of this study suggest that lipoic acid can improve vision related quality of life in dry age related macular degernation. This is through the increase of lipoic acid to increase antioxidant activity.
The antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase was increased after three months of lipoic acid by 20%. The average dose of lipoic acid was 200 mg per day for 3 months.
Reference
α-Lipoic Acid Treatment Improves Vision-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Tohoku J Exp Med. 2016 ; Volume 240 (Issue 3): Pages 209-214.
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Categories: Antioxidant, Clinical Trials, Dietary Supplements, Eye