Supplementation and AMD: An Update of AREDS and AREDS2

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the United States. The number of individuals affected with AMD, estimated at 1.75 million, is expected to double by 2020, reflecting the fact that the aging population is living longer. With this rapid increase in cases, preventive therapies will become particularly important. One of the preventive strategies that has garnered the most interest in recent years is diet, particularly because a number of studies have implicated a role for nutrition in protecting against AMD. Current Recommendations Until AREDS2 is completed, the current recommendation for patients with bilateral large drusen and those with advanced AMD in one eye is to take the AREDS-type supplements. Patients who are smokers should avoid taking beta-carotene. Any adverse effects, including mortality, in participants taking the various forms of the AREDS-type formulation, as well as those associated with lutein/zeaxanthin and/or omega-3 LCPUFAs, will continued to be monitored. At the conclusion of AREDS2, which is not expected for 5 years at least, we will have more data to address the effects of vitamins, minerals, and omega-3 LCPUFAs for the therapy of AMD. From Medscape Ophthalmology AMD Expert Column Series Emily Y. Chew, MD, Author Deputy Director, Division of Epidemiology & Clinical Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland