by Dr. Walter Moscoso, MD.
Fellowhip-trained retina specialist

A large, well-designed study (age-related eye disease) has concluded that high levels of dietary supplements consisting of a combination of vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene and zinc at specific concentrations may lower the risk of developing advanced stages of macular degeneration by 25% for people at high risk. Determination for whether you are at high risk is made after a dilated examination of the retina and possibly a fluorescein angiogram. It was determined that the above combination of antioxidants plus the zinc supplements also reduce the risk of vision loss by 19%. Taking the zinc-alone supplement reduced the risk for development of advanced macular degeneration by 21% and reduced the risk of vision loss by about 11%. Taking the antioxidant supplements alone reduced the risk of developing advanced macular degeneration by 17% and reduced the risk of vision loss by about 10%. If you are a smoker, beta carotene supplement is not recommended because it may increase the risk of lung cancer. People with a history of urinary tract infections are cautioned that zinc may increase the chances of developing such infections. Additionally, copper supplements need to be taken, as zinc will otherwise cause a copper deficiency. It is not known what the impact of taking antioxidants and zinc combination supplements for decades will be. These supplements have no effect on the progression of cataracts. If you are presently taking daily multivitamins, you may consider switching to Centrum as your daily multivitamin as this supplement was also used by some patients in the large study without untoward effects. The dosages of nutrients used in these studies are as follows: 500 mg of vitamin C, 400 IU of vitamin E, 15 mg of beta carotene, 80 mg of zinc as zinc oxide and 2 mg of copper oxide as cupric oxide. A product that will soon be available in the market with these concentrations is Ocuvite PreserVision by Bausch & Lomb.