Dr. Grossman’s Blog

New study found that medications that increase sensitivity to the sun,  including antidepressants, diuretics, antibiotics and the pain reliever naproxen sodium (commonly sold over-the-counter as Aleve) increase the risk of age-related cataract.

The results of this study will be in the publication in the August print issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.

Editor’s Notes: The lens cells are similar to skin cells which may be why additional light sensitivity can contribute to or cause cataracts.

For more information on nutrition, diet and cataracts, Click Here

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness around the world.  Studies suggest that oxidation is responsible for much of the damage to the lens and that antioxidants might protect the lens against formation of cataract.

Scientists at the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne in Australia have released their investigation of the relationship between antioxidant nutrient intakes and the incidence of age-related cataract.

During 1992–1994, 3654 people aged 49 years or older attended baseline examinations as part of the Blue Mountains Eye Study.  Of these, 2464 (67.4%) of the participants were evaluated again at either 5 years or 10 years.  At each examination, lens photography was performed and food-frequency questionnaires were administered.  Antioxidants, including beta-carotene, zinc, and vitamins A, C, and E, were assessed. Cataract was assessed at each examination from lens photographs with the use of the Wisconsin Cataract Grading System.

Participants whose total intake of vitamin C (diet as well as supplements) was in the top 20% of the group had a reduced risk of nuclear cataract.  An above-median intake of combined antioxidants (vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and zinc) was also associated with a reduced risk of incident nuclear cataract. 

Study authors concluded that higher intakes of vitamin C or the combined intake of antioxidants had long-term protective associations against development of nuclear cataract in this older population.

Learn more about antioxidants and their importance for good eye health

Read more about cataracts

SOURCE:  Tan, et al, Antioxidant nutrient intake and the long-term incidence of age-related cataract: the Blue Mountains Eye Study,  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 87, No. 6, 1899-1905, June 2008.

Can something as easy as taking a daily multi-vitamin help prevent cataracts? Researchers believe it can!

An analysis of Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) data has found that consistent use of a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement may delay the progression of age-related lens opacities.  Lens opacities in the form of cataracts are the leading cause of blindness around the world today.

Of the 4596 participants enrolled in the AREDS cataract trial, approximately two-thirds elected to take a multi-vitamin supplement containing RDA-recommended levels of vitamins and minerals.

Subjects were assessed for development or progression of lens opacities via lens photographs at baseline and at annual visits beginning at year 2.  Statistics were collected on changes in amounts of nuclear, cortical, or posterior subcapsular opacity, or the performance of cataract surgery.

Researchers found the risk of development of or progression to any cataract was reduced by 16% in regular multi-vitamin takers. For nuclear cataract, a 25% risk reduction was observed in the multi-supplement users.

Read more about cataracts, including recommended vitamins and supplements

SOURCE:  “Centrum Use and Progression of Age-Related Cataract in AREDS”, AREDS Research Group, Ophthalmol 113:1264-0, 2006.

Research shows bilberry extract helps fight against macular degeneration and cataracts in lab rats

Cataracts and macular degeneration are the major cause of vision deterioration in the elderly. A study by Russian scientists shows that taking bilberry supplements may help ward off these diseases.

Researchers used a particular strain of lab rats (OXYS rats) capable of reproducing many of the key features of human age-related cataracts and macular degeneration. From 1.5 to 3 months, these rats were given either a control diet or a diet supplemented with bilberry extract.

At 3 months, more then 70% of the rats in the control group had cataract and macular degeneration. Rats in the group given bilberry extract had no impairments in the lenses and retina.

Bilberry is also known as European blueberry, and is closely related to North American wild and cultivated blueberries and huckleberries. Bilberry is known to be a potent antioxidant and has been shown to help other vision problems such as glaucoma. (Read more about bilberry and glaucoma).

Results suggest that long-term supplementation with bilberry extract is effective in prevention of macular degeneration and cataract.

Read more research on cataracts and macular degeneration

Learn about natural bilberry supplements

Source: “Dietary supplementation with bilberry extract prevents macular degeneration and cataracts in senesce-accelerated OXYS rats”, Fursova et al, Adv Gerontol, 2005; 16: 76-9.

Antioxidants not only help prevent some eye diseases, they may also help limit progression of the diseases

It’s known that taking antioxidants helps delay the onset of some eye diseases associated with aging, such as cataract. Now researchers believe that antioxidants can be effective if damage to retinal tissue has already set in.

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine studied the effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced damage to retinal tissue. An increase in ROS levels can result in significant damage to cell structures — a situation known as oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is a significant risk factor in the development of many eye diseases associated with aging.

Since the formation of cataract is a well-defined progressive disease, believed to be related to a continued generation of ROS in the aqueous humor, the researchers hypothesized that even a late start with an appropriate antioxidant could halt the process and delay cataract development and vision impairment.

The results? Adding pyruvate – known to be an effective ROS scavenger — to lens cultures after lenses had sustained 50% damage was significantly effective in preventing progress.

Pyruvate can be found in foods such as red apples, and to a lesser extent, in dark beer and some cheeses.

Learn more about antioxidants

Read more about antioxidants and their importance in maintaining healthy vision

SOURCE:  “Oxidative damage to lens in culture: reversibility by pyruvate and ethyl pyruvate”, Varma, et al, Ophthalmologica, 2008; 222 (3):194-198.

A study conducted in North India found that people with low levels of antioxidants had higher levels of cataracts.

Several recent studies have shown antioxidants are important in fighting macular degeneration. We are now learning how important these same antioxidants may be for preventing cataracts as well.

How can you boost your antioxidant levels? Eat more fruits and vegetables, especially those high in yellow, orange and dark green pigments.

In this new study 1,112 participants aged 50 or older were interviewed for risk factors (tobacco, alcohol, biomass fuel use, sunlight exposure and socioeconomic status) and underwent lens photography and blood sampling to measure antioxidant levels.

Researchers found significant inverse associations between cataracts and the antioxidants vitamin C, zeaxanthin, lutein, lycopene, alpha- and beta-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin; people with lower levels of these antioxidants had higher rates of cataracts.

Read more about antioxidants

Learn more about cataracts

Learn more about food sources for nutrients crucial for good eye health

Read more research on antioxidants and their importance for vision

SOURCE: Dherani M, Murthy GV, Gupta SK, et al. Blood levels of vitamin C, carotenoids and retinol are inversely associated with cataract in a North Indian population. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2008;49(8):3328-35.

Women who eat plenty of green vegetables may decrease their risk of nuclear cataracts. Nuclear cataract is the most common type of cataract among older Americans.

Authors of the Carotenoids in Age-Related Disease Study (CAREDS) report that women with diets high in lutein and zeaxanthin have a lower prevalence of nuclear cataract. Lutein and zeaxanthin are nutrients found in green vegetables such as spinach, kale, turnip greens and broccoli. Learn more about good sources of lutein and zeaxanthin.

Participants in this study were 1082 women with intakes of lutein and zeaxanthin above the 78th (high) or below the 28th (low) percentile. These women (from Iowa, Wisconsin and Oregon) ranged in age from 50 to 79.

Researchers evaluated associations between nuclear cataracts and lutein and zeaxanthin in the diet and serum of patients. Nuclear cataract was determined from slitlamp photographs. Lutein and zeaxanthin the diet were estimated from a validated, semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Serum levels of lutein, zeaxanthin and tocopherols were determined at Tufts University by a reverse-phase HPLC analysis.

Women in the group with high dietary levels of lutein and zeaxanthin had a 23% lower prevalence of nuclear cataract compared with the low level group.

In 2006 the authors of CAREDS found that a stable intake of lutein and zeaxanthin over time could also reduce the risk of AMD in healthy women. Read more about the results of this study.

Read more about cataracts

Review other studies on cataracts

Learn about natural products for cataracts

SOURCE: Associations Between Age-Related Nuclear Cataract and Lutein and Zeaxanthin in the Diet and Serum in the Carotenoids in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (CAREDS), an Ancillary Study of the Women’s Health Initiative, Moeller et al, Arch Ophthalmol. 2008; 126(3): 354-364.

My posting of May 28, 2008 referenced N-Acetyl-Carnosine, which can stabilize and even improve cataracts.

Carnosine’s best-known effect, however, is its ability to prevent the formation of advanced glycated end products (protein crosslinks). Carnosine competes with proteins for the binding sites they would occupy on sugar molecules, making it the best glycation preventative currently recognized in the world of nutrition research. Carnosine has been found to significantly extend the life span of cultured cells and fruit flies, inhibit the toxic effects of the protein that accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, protect against the toxic effects of copper- zinc in the brain and enhance the state of balance (homeostasis) under which physiological systems work best. And, finally, it has been shown to prevent and/or reverse cataract.14,1514. Quinn PJ, et al. Carnosine: its properties, functions and potential therapeutic applications. Mol Aspects Med 1992; 13(5):379-444. 15. Specht S, et al. Continuing damage to rat retinal DNA during darkness following light exposure. Photochem Photobiol 2000; 71(5):559-66.

When administered topically to the eye in the form of N-acetyl-L-carnosine-(functionally, a time-release form of carnosine), this dipeptide can move easily into both the water-soluble (aqueous) and lipid-containing parts of the eye. Once there, it helps to prevent DNA strand breaks induced by UV radiation and enhances DNA repair.16 Once it has entered the lipid areas of the eye, N-acetyl-L-carnosine partially breaks down and becomes L-carnosine.

Chinese and Russian researchers have studied cataract-preventive nutrients for nearly a decade. A Chinese study done by A.M. Wang in 1999, used 96 patients aged 60 years or older having senile cataracts of various degrees of maturity with the duration of the disease from 2 to 21 years. Patients instilled one to two drops of the carnosine-containing solution in each eye three to four times each day for a period of treatment ranging from three to six months. The level of eyesight improvement and the change of lens transparency were considered as an evaluation index of the curative effect of carnosine. The result showed that carnosine gives a pronounced effect on primary senile cataracts, the effective rate being 100%. For mature senile cataracts, the effect rate was 80%.

Ref: Wang AM, et al. Use of carnosine as a natural anti-senescence drug for human beings. Department of Biochemistry and Department of Neurobiology, Harbin Medical University, China 1999.

A recent study found significant evidence that women who got more lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamin E were less likely to develop cataracts than women who are lacking intake of these nutrients. In fact, the women who got the most lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamin E were 18% less likely to get cataracts.Â

Ref: *Christen, W. Archives of Ophthalmology, January 2008; vol 126: pp 102-109.

For more information on this study, go to http://www.naturaleyecare.com/studies_bydisease.asp?s_num=2&disease=Cataracts