Health And Fitness News: Vitamins Treat Macular Degeneration

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am turning to you for help. My mother tells me that her eye doctor says she has macular degeneration. Already she’s preparing to live in a nursing home, since she says she faces blindness. Yesterday she was driving a car, keeping house for herself and had an active social life. I can’t believe this change could happen in one day. Does it? – L.M.

ANSWER: The more-common kind of macular degeneration, the dry kind, doesn’t usually lead to such profound loss of vision in one day. I believe your mother is drawing some premature conclusions about what she faces. The macula is a small area on the retina, the back part of the eye that turns incoming light signals into electrical signals that are sent to the brain to allow us to see. The macula is about the size of a newsprint capital O. Small as that retinal area is, it carries on one of the biggest vision jobs. It’s responsible for clear central vision, the kind needed to read, to watch TV, to recognize faces and to drive. Age is one important factor in developing macular degeneration. The condition is formally called age-related macular degeneration. Genes have a role. So does cigarette smoking.

Wet macular degeneration comes about from the sudden sprouting of fragile blood vessels in the macular area. Those vessels leak fluid, which interferes with macular function. This kind of macular degeneration can progress rapidly. There are more ways of handling it than there are of handling the dry variety.

Slow your mother down. She is acting far too prematurely. Her vision might never progress to the point where she has to give up driving and is dependent on others. A combination of high doses of vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene (a vitamin A relative), zinc and copper can slow the progress of dry macular degeneration. People shouldn’t treat themselves with this vitamin mixture. Their doctors will tell them when it is appropriate. Currently, more studies are ongoing to determine the place of folic acid, vitamins B-6 and B-12, lutein, zeaxanthin and omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of this common eye condition. The booklet on macular degeneration answers questions on it in greater detail. To order a copy, write: Dr. Donohue – No. 701, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Can. with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

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