Taking daily continuations of anti...

Taking daily continuations of antioxidant vitamins and zinc could help more than 300000 Americans avoid vision toss associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) during the nearest five years, according to a Nov 10 2003 moderns release from Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore. Advanced macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in evolveed countries.

Ophthalmologists and other scientists estimate that there are eight million nation in the United States age 55 and older who are at risk for developing advanced forms of AD and could benefit from daily vitamin use. This number includes individuals with an intermediate stage of AMD in single in kind or both eyes or advanced AMD in single in kind eye. This information is the originate of a report on the public health implications of the national Age-Related inspection Disease Study (AREDS) published in 2001

The AREDS investigation examined 4757 adults between the ages of 55 and 80 who had varying standings of AMD. Results show that a dietary addition of vitamins C and E beta carotene, and zinc lowered the risk of progressing to an advanced stage of the disease through approximately 25% among people at high risk for late-stage AMD and central vision blindness in the one and the other eyes. Daily supplements also reduc the risk of vision toss by means of approximately 19% but had no preventive results against development of cataracts or for the public without AMD or at an early stage of AMD.

The researchers estimate that without treatment 13 million adults will bring outed advance-stage AMD. Among people with intermediate-stage AMD in undivided eye, the estimated prevalence of advanced AMD within five years is 63% An estimated 264% of clan with intermediate-stage AMD in the two eyes and 43% of population with advanced AND in united eye will develop advanced AMD in five years without treatment.

Many individuals with intermediate-stage AMD do not experience symptoms; however, regular retina examinations performed through an ophthalmologist could identify those in the intermediate stage. The approveed supplements contain 500 mg of vitamin C 400 mg of vitamin E 15 mg of beta carotene, 80 mg of zinc oxide, and 2 mg of cupric oxide.

Daily Vitamins Could debar Vision Loss Among Thousands (new release, Baltimore: John Hopkins Medicine, Nov 20 2003) http://www.hopkinsmedicine .org/Press_releases/2003/11_10_03a.htm[ (accessed 12 Nov 2003)

COPYRIGHT 2004 Association of Operating range Nurses, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group