MAY 08, 2013
AREDS2: Outcomes and Implications
By Mark S. Blumenkranz, MD; Emily Y. Chew, MD
ARVO 2013 Annual Meeting
Comprehensive Ophthalmology, Retina/Vitreous
In this interview from the ARVO 2013 Annual Meeting, Dr. Emily Chew, study chair for the Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2), discusses the primary findings from that 5-year study. Results show that adding lutein/zeaxanthin and/or omega-3 fatty acids to the original AREDS formula did not further reduce the risk of AMD progression. However, subgroup analysis shows that replacing beta-carotene with lutein/zeaxanthin did reduce the risk of AMD progression by 18%. Additionally, patients with the lowest baseline level of lutein and zeaxanthin in their diets who added the supplement showed a 26% reduction of risk for AMD progression. Based on these findings, the NEI research authors recommend adding 10 mg lutein and 2 mg zeaxanthin and removing beta-carotene from the current dietary supplement.