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Effect of lutein and antioxidant dietary supplementation on contrast sensitivity in age-related macular disease: a randomized controlled trial.

Bartlett HE, Eperjesi F

1Opthalmic Research Group, School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham, UK.

Objective:The aim of the study is to determine the effect of lutein combined with vitamin and mineral supplementation on contrast sensitivity in people with age-related macular disease (ARMD).Design:A prospective, 9-month, double-masked randomized controlled trial.Setting:Aston University, Birmingham, UK and a UK optometric clinical practice.Subjects:Age-related maculopathy (ARM) and atrophic age-related macular degeneration (AMD) participants were randomized (using a random number generator) to either placebo (n=10) or active (n=15) groups. Three of the placebo group and two of the active group dropped out.Interventions:The active group supplemented daily with 6 mg lutein combined with vitamins and minerals. The outcome measure was contrast sensitivity (CS) measured using the Pelli-Robson chart, for which the study had 80% power at the 5% significance level to detect a change of 0.3 log units.Results:The CS score increased by 0.07+/-0.07 and decreased by 0.02+/-0.18 log units for the placebo and active groups, respectively. The difference between these values is not statistically significant (z=-0.903, P=0.376).Conclusion:The results suggest that 6 mg of lutein supplementation in combination with other antioxidants is not beneficial for this group. Further work is required to establish optimum dosage levels.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2007) 61, 1121-1127; doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602626; published online 31 January 2007.

Published 5 September 2007 in Eur J Clin Nutr, 61(9): 1121-7.
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