Lutein and Vitamin A Support Visual Function

By CP Staff

A recently published study investigated the use of lutein and vitamin A on visual function in patients with retinitis pigmentosa. According to the Foundation Fighting Blindness, over 100,000 Americans are affected with retinitis pigmentosa, a group of progressive eye disorders in which the retina of the eye deteriorates leading to loss of night and peripheral vision. Over time, central vision also declines. Retinitis pigmentosa is inherited in approximately 50 percent of patients with the disorder.

In this new clinical trial, researchers supplemented lutein and vitamin A to subjects with retinitis pigmentosa. In this study, subjects included 225 non-smoking patients with retinitis pigmentosa between 18 and 60 years of age. The subjects received 15,000 IU per day of vitamin A. The subjects were also supplemented with either 12 mg of lutein or a placebo daily. Visual acuity and retinal changes were evaluated at the beginning of the study and again after 4 years of supplementation. The Humphrey Field Analyzer 30-2 and 60-4 programs were used to evaluate central and peripheral vision.

The results of the study showed that the Humphrey Field Analyzer 60-4 program demonstrated that lutein plus vitamin A resulted in a decrease in the mean rate of sensitivity loss in the subjects with retinitis pigmentosa. The mean decline with the 60-4 program was slower in the subjects with the highest serum lutein levels or in the subjects with the highest increase in macular pigment optical density, a measurement of the health of the retina, at the follow-up evaluation.

The researchers concluded, “Lutein supplementation of 12 mg/day slowed loss of mid-peripheral visual field on average among nonsmoking adults with retinitis pigmentosa taking vitamin A. Application to Clinical Practice Data are presented that support use of 12 mg/day of lutein to slow visual field loss among nonsmoking adults with retinitis pigmentosa taking vitamin A.”

Reference:

Berson EL, Rosner B, Sandberg MA, Weigel-DiFranco C, Brockhurst RJ, Hayes KC, Johnson EJ, Anderson EJ, Johnson CA, Gaudio AR, Willett WC, Schaefer EJ. Clinical trial of lutein in patients with retinitis pigmentosa receiving vitamin A. Arch Ophthalmol. 2010 Apr;128(4):403-11.