Fish Oils May Protect Against AMD

By Kristina Fiore, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Incorporating more omega-3 fatty acids into the diet may decrease a woman's risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), researchers found.

Women with the highest intake of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) had a 38% lower risk of AMD than those with the lowest intake (95% CI 0.45 to 0.86, P=0.004), William Christen, ScD, of Harvard, and colleagues reported in the March 14 issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

The findings are the "strongest observational evidence to date in support of a possible role for intake of omega-3 long-chain fatty acids and fish in the primary prevention of AMD," they wrote.
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Strokes, Eye Disorder May Go Hand in Hand

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By Crystal Phend, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Hemorrhagic stroke appears more likely with advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD), perhaps because of common underlying risk factors, a population-based study showed.

Stage 4 AMD independently predicted a 1.56-times greater risk of any type of stroke among older adults after adjustment for age, sex, and other key risk factors (95% confidence interval 1.08 to 2.26), Renske G. Wieberdink, MD, of Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and colleagues reported.

Hemorrhagic stroke risk was significantly higher -- nearly seven-fold -- in older adults with stage 4 AMD than in those who did not have AMD in the analysis presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference.
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6.5% Of Over 40s Have AMD In USA, Versus 9.4% 15 Years Ago

The percentage of Americans aged 40+ with AMD (age-related macular degeneration) has dropped to 6.5% in 2005-2008 from 9.4% in 1988-1994, researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison reported in an article published in Archives of Ophthalmology.  Full Article

Medical News: Fish Oil May Thwart Advanced AMD - in Ophthalmology, Ophthalmology from MedPage Today

Eating fish and shellfish high in omega-3 fatty acids may protect against the development of advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in older patients, researchers found.

In a study of Medicare beneficiaries living in Maryland, patients with advanced AMD were significantly less likely to eat at least one serving of seafood high in omega-3 fatty acids a week than healthy controls (OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.2 to 0.8), according to Bonnielin Swenor, MPH, of the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and colleagues.

The findings, which were reported online in Ophthalmology, are consistent with other recent epidemiological studies suggesting an inverse association between fish consumption and risk of AMD, including the Blue Mountain Eye Study and the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS).

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Potential Exists to Modify Some AMD Risk from MedPage Today

By Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Early manifestations of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) may involve modifiable risk factors, including smoking and HDL cholesterol, data from a prospective cohort study suggest.

Eleven or more pack-years of smoking increased the risk of early AMD by two-thirds, and every 5 mg/dL increase in HDL lowered the risk by almost 10%.

Early AMD occurs infrequently before age 55 but increases with age thereafter, suggesting a possible window for intervention against modifiable risk factors, according to an article published in the June issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.
Medical News: Potential Exists to Modify Some AMD Risk - in Ophthalmology, Ophthalmology from MedPage Today

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Eye-Care Utilization Among Women Aged ≥40 Years with Eye Diseases --- 19 States, 2006--2008

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Diabetic retinopathy (DR), glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) are major causes of vision loss and blindness (1). Women have been found to have a higher prevalence of vision loss than men (2,3). Early detection and timely treatment by eye-care providers are necessary to delay disease progression and prevent vision loss. To assess the use of professional eye care among women aged ≥40 years, CDC analyzed data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for 19 U.S. states for the period 2006--2008. This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which indicated that 21% of women with self-reported DR, 12% of women with self-reported glaucoma, and 8% of women with self-reported ARMD did not visit an eye-care provider in the recommended follow-up period. Women who did not have insurance coverage for eye care or who did not receive routine medical check-ups were more likely to report not having the recommended follow-up eye care. The two most commonly cited reasons for not having an eye-care visit were cost or not having insurance (range across diseases: 40%--46%) and having no reason to go for follow-up (range: 20%--29%). Compliance with obtaining eye examinations at recommended intervals among women aged ≥40 years with eye diseases might be enhanced by improving access to health care and implementing and expanding existing educational programs to raise awareness regarding the importance of routine follow-up eye examinations.
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Attacking Age-Related Macular Degeneration At The Molecular Level

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from Medical News Today

Researchers at University College London say they have gleaned a key insight into the molecular beginnings of age-related macular degeneration, the No. 1 cause of vision loss in the elderly, by determining how two key proteins interact to naturally prevent the onset of the condition.

In a paper to be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the team reports for the first time how a common blood protein linked to the eye condition reins in another protein that, when produced in vastly increased amounts in the presence of inflammation or infection, can damage the eye.

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Systemic Complement Activation in Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Scholl HPN, Issa PC, Walier M, Janzer S, Pollok-Kopp B, et al. (2008) Systemic Complement Activation in Age-Related Macular Degeneration. PLoS ONE 3(7): e2593 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002593 This study is the first to show systemic complement activation in AMD patients. This suggests that AMD is a systemic disease with local disease manifestation at the ageing macula. Furthermore, the data provide evidence for an association of systemic activation of the alternative complement pathway with genetic variants of CFH that were previously linked to AMD susceptibility. Read Article