First, we need to talk about how AMD starts and progresses. Also, I’ll introduce some terms about the AREDS/AREDS2 supplements.
We cannot tell you if you should take the AREDS/AREDS2 supplements. We can only give you the information for you to make an informed decision.
Facts about AMD – for more information, watch this 4 minute video.
- Everyone’s rate of progression of AMD is different. There are many risk factors, and everyone has a different combination of them. If the risk factors were letters of the alphabet, you may have A, C, F and Z. Another person may have A, R, and T.
- I used the letter A in both examples because we all have a genetic makeup which in determined partly by heredity but includes other genetic factors as well such as gene mutations. For a simple explanation of genetics, read The Basics of Genes and Genetic Disorders.
- Genetics plays a big factor in AMD. In a large study of twins including elderly twins, they reported that “Genetic factors play a substantial role in the etiology of AMD and associated macular characteristics, explaining 46% to 71% of the variation in the overall severity of the disease. Environmental factors unique to each twin also contribute to the occurrence of this disease.”
- Although having a first-degree relative with AMD (parent) increases a person’s risk of developing AMD, not everyone whose parent has or had it will also develop it.
- Risk factors are NOT causes. A risk factor is something that increases the likelihood of a disease to develop. A cause is something that if it is there, you have the disease. We know some of the risk factors for AMD, but we don’t yet know the cause.
- Everyone who has AMD started with the dry form. Some people don’t get diagnosed until it has turned to the wet form.
- The dry form usually progresses slowly, but that is not always the case.
- The stages of AMD are early dry, intermediate dry, advanced AMD which can be wet or advanced dry which is called geographic atrophy.
Basics of AREDS/AREDS2 Research – for more information about AREDS & AREDS2, read this article.
- AREDS stands for Age-Related Eye Disease Study.
- There were 2 studies: AREDS ran from 1992 to 1999 (7 years). The results were published in 2001. There were 4,757 people enrolled ages 55-80 years old (mean age 69), 56% were women, 96% were white. DNA was collected. The study was conducted by the NEI and funded by Bausch & Lomb.
- AREDS2 started in 2006 and ran for 5 years. The results were published in 2013. There were 4203 people enrolled in the study, ages 50-85 (mean age 74), 57% women, 97% white. The study was conducted by the NEI and funded by Bausch & Lomb.
- There is only 1 brand of an AREDS or AREDS2 supplement that has the exact formulation as was used in the study: Bausch & Lomb’s PreserVision because they hold the patent.
Next: SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE FROM THE AREDS & AREDS2 STUDIES
Scientific Articles for AREDS & AREDS2
AREDS2 results: Effect of Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Lutein/Zeaxanthin, or other Nutrient Supplementation on Cognitive Function: The AREDS2 Randomized Clinical Trial