Latest News: June, 2009 - New Treatments
First Study of Combined Dietary Factors Finds Reduced AMD Risks
In this study,levels of AMD-protective nutrients, including vitamins C and E, zinc, lutein, zeaxanthin, omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA), as well as low-GI foods, were assessed using participants' food intake reports. (A food's GI value is based on how fast its carbohydrates raise the body's blood sugar levels; low GI foods have less impact on blood sugar fluctuations.)
The result of this study is that a diet that includes key nutrients and low-glycemic index foods is likely to reduce risks for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to the first study to analyze these factors in combination.
Food sources of nutrients that support good general and eye health include: citrus fruits, vegetable oils, nuts, whole grains, dark green leafy vegetables, and cold water fish.
This research was published in the May issue of Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Editor's Note: This study continues to demonstrate macular degeneration is a nutritionally related eye disease, and continued studies show that the effects of macular degeneration can be reduced (and possibly controlled) and vision can be protected by diet, lifestyle choices and specific nutritional supplementation.
See more on macular degeneration and recommended nutrients.
For an excellent related whole food eye formula, see our Advanced Eye and Vision Support Formula.
More good fat, less bad, reduces age-related macular degeneration risk
Two reports published in the May, 2009 issue of the American Medical Association journal Archives of Ophthalmology reveal a protective effect for omega-3 fatty acids, fish, nuts and olive oil, and an adverse effect for trans fatty acids, on the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of vision loss in older individuals.
In the first study, Jennifer S.L. Tan, MBBS, BE at the University of Sydney, Australia and her colleagues evaluated data from 2,454 participants in the Blue Mountains Eye Study of men and women aged 49 and older. Those who consumed one serving of fish per week were shown to have a 31 percent lower adjusted risk of developing early AMD compared with those who consumed less.
In the second article, Elaine W. T. Chong, MD, PhD, of the Centre for Eye Research Australia and her associates evaluated data from 6,734 men and women aged 58 to 69 who participated in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study. Dietary questionnaires completed between 1990 and 1994 were analyzed for the intake of various foods and individual fatty acids. Follow up examinations conducted between 2003 and 2006 detected 2,872 cases of early age-related macular degeneration and 88 cases of late disease.
A high intake of trans-unsaturated fats was associated with a significant increase in late macular degeneration, with those whose intake was categorized as among the top 25 percent of participants having a 76 percent greater risk than those whose intake was among the lowest fourth.
Olive oil emerged as protective against late disease. When those who reported consuming at least 100 milliliters per week olive oil were compared with those who consumed less than 1 milliliter per week, they were found to have a 52 percent lower risk of late AMD.
For early AMD, those whose omega-3 fatty acid intake was among the top 25 percent had a 15 percent lower risk compared with those whose intake was among the lowest quarter.
Trans fatty acids increase cholesterol levels and inflammation, both of which affect the eyes' blood vessels, while omega-3 fatty acids may help protect the retina. Although the main fats contained in olive oil were not associated with macular degeneration risk, the oil contains antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that could be protective. "A diet low in trans-unsaturated fat and rich in omega-3 fatty acids and olive oil may reduce the risk of AMD," the authors conclude.
Ref: www.lef.org/newsletter/2009/0512_Fat-and-Age-Related-Macular-Degeneration-Risk.htm
Editor's Note1: STAY AWAY from bad oils including vegetable oils (unless truly organic and cold pressed), all transfatty acids and fried oils.
Editor's Note2: We recommended supplementing daily with a high grade fish oil such as Carlsons Fish Oil.
Telescopic Lenses Can Help Vision Loss From Macular Degeneration
A miniature telescope mounted into a spectacle lens can now help people with vision loss from macular degeneration. The device, which is about the size of a pencil eraser, can improve vision by about three and a half lines on an eye chart.
A telescope surgically implanted directly into the eye is expected to be approved by the FDA later this year, however the "spectacle" mounted telescope is available now without the safety concerns associated with a surgical procedure.
Additional information on telescopic glasses and Dr. Paul’s research is available at http://www.LowVisionDoctor.com
Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy May Cure AMD
A team of scientists and surgeons from the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London and the Moorfields Eye Hospital in London has developed a stem cell therapy to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of vision loss in the elderly.
“Under the new treatment, embryonic stem cells are transformed into replicas of the missing cells,” writes The Times of London. “They are then placed on an artificial membrane which is inserted in the back of the retina.”
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced this week that it will fund the development of the therapy; UCL professor Pete Coffey, who led the research team, predicts the therapy will be available as part of a simple, one-hour procedure within six or seven years.
The researchers are applying for approval to conduct a clinical trial on humans; it would be just the second-ever trial conducted on humans using embryonic stem cells. Laboratory trials completed by the British team have demonstrated that stem cells can prevent blindness in rats with a similar disease to AMD. They have also successfully tested elements of the technology in pigs.
Editor's Note: The use of embryonic stem cells is controversial to many as it involves the destruction of embryos. Redirecting adult stem cells may offer some resolution to this problem, though at present embryonic stem cells seem to be the most flexible and adaptive in becoming new targeted cells for healing.
Editor's Note2: Learn about natural approaches to help prevent the onset of macular degeneration as well as help preserve vision for those with macular degeneration.
Omega 3's Protects Against Parkinson's
New research findings show that omega-3 fats in your diet may protect your brain cells. It works by preventing the misfolding of a protein resulting from a gene mutation in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Huntington's.
Researchers developed a cell model with a mutation of the Ataxin-1 gene, which induces the misfolding of the protein. These deformed proteins cannot be properly processed by the cell machinery, resulting in tangled clumps of toxic protein that eventually kill the cell. But the omega-3 fat docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) protects cells from this defect.
Dr. Bazan laboratory who leads this study discovered earlier that neuroprotectin D1 (NPD1), a naturally-occurring molecule in the human brain that is derived from DHA also promotes brain cell survival. In this system NPD1 is capable of rescue the dying cells with the pathological type of Ataxin-1, keeping their integrity intact.
Editor's Note: See an excellent source of DHA.
See a vegetarian source of DHA.
Supplementing with Folate Lessens Allergy and Asthma Symptoms
An article published online on April 30, 2009 in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology revealed the discovery of researchers at Johns Hopkins Children's Center of a role for the B vitamin folate in lessening allergy and asthma symptoms.
Compared to subjects whose folate levels were highest at 18 nanograms per milliliter or more, those whose levels were 8 nanograms per milliliter or less were found to have a 30 percent greater risk of having high amounts of immune system markers known as IgE antibodies, which are elevated in allergy. Subjects with low folate levels were also more likely to report allergies, wheezing, or asthma. Those with low levels of folate had a 31 percent greater risk of skin allergies, a 40 percent greater risk of wheezing, and a 16 percent greater risk of asthma compared to those whose folate levels were highest.
Ref: www.jacionline.org/
Higher vitamin D levels associated with speedier brain processing
In an article published on May 21, 2009 online in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, European researchers report that men with higher vitamin D levels performed better on a test of attention and speed of information processing than those with lower levels of the vitamin.
Although the authors write that the mechanisms of vitamin D in cerebral functions are unknown, they note that vitamin D has been shown to increase choline acetyltransferase activity in rat brains and that there is also evidence that the vitamin provides a neuroprotective effect. Furthermore, parathyroid hormone and calcium levels, which are affected by vitamin D, could be involved in cognitive function. Additionally, low serum vitamin D levels have been associated with a greater risk of depression, and higher levels of vitamin D were found to be associated with lower depression scores in the current study.
For more information, go to http://jnnp.bmj.com
Editor's Note: This is another of a series of ongoing studies showing vitamin D to be one of those super nutrients. Supplementing with Vitamin D may help prevent many cancers such as colon, breast, and prostate cancers, helps build and maintain better bones, increases overall immunity and improves cognitive functions.
Studies suggest it may also play a role in helping to prevent the onset of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes and Rheumatoid Arthritis.
DHEA improves bone density in women
In an article published in the May, 2009 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Edward Weiss, PhD and his associates at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri report that women who supplemented with the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) along with calcium and vitamin D experienced a greater increase in bone density than women who received calcium and vitamin D alone.
At the one year mark of the study, women who received DHEA had an average 1.7 percent increase in spinal bone density, while those in the placebo group experienced no increase. When women in the placebo group were switched to DHEA during the second year of the study, bone density improved by 2.6 percent compared to the beginning of the study, while increasing to 3.6 percent above baseline in the original DHEA group. Estradiol, IGF-1, and testosterone increased with DHEA supplementation, and bone turnover markers decreased in both groups during the first year and remained decreased during year two.
Men did not appear to derive benefit from DHEA, although spinal bone density increased in both the DHEA and placebo groups by 1 to 2 percent, leading the researchers to believe that the calcium/vitamin D regimen could be responsible for the improvement.
"In addition to its beneficial effects on bone, DHEA replacement may have other benefits including improvements in risk factors for diabetes and heart disease, improvements in immune function, and improvements in psychological health," Dr Weiss added.
Ref: http://www.ajcn.org/
Vitamin B and Colon Cancer
A new study out of Harvard Medical School suggests that B6 may reduce the risk of colon cancer by 50%. The study, recently published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, evaluated the blood levels of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP), the active form of B6.4 The researchers evaluated the link between blood PLP levels and risk of colorectal cancer amongst 14,916 men. Jung Eun Lee, head researcher from Brigham, reported that in relation to incidence of colorectal cancer, plasma PLP levels were inversely linked with risk of colorectal cancer. There are about 492,000 deaths from the cancer each year.
Incidence was lowest in women who consumed the most vitamin B6 — 8.6 milligrams (mg) per day, about five times the recommended daily amount. Average vitamin B6 intake in the other three groups ranged from 1.6 mg to 3.3 mg per day.
Health and Peace
Marc Grossman, O.D., L.Ac.
Michael Edson, MS, L.Ac.
visionworksusa@earthlink.net
www.naturaleyecare.com
(845) 255-8222
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