Two supplements may help slow down the progression of glaucoma, according to a new study.
- Glaucoma is a type of eye
disease that can injure the optic nerve and lead to blindness.
- Past studies show there are
several ways a person can help lower their risk for glaucoma, including
eating a healthy diet rich in certain nutrients.
- A new study has found that
supplementation with B vitamins and choline may help slow the progression
of glaucoma, via a mouse model.
About 80 million people globally live with glaucoma —
an umbrella term for a group of eye diseases that can injure the optic nerve,
leading to blindness.
There is currently no
cure for glaucoma. Medications, surgery, and laser treatments are currently
used to help treat and slow the progression of the condition.
Past studies show there
are several ways a person can help lower their risk for glaucoma,
including not smoking, exercising
regularly, wearing
sunglasses, limiting caffeine
intake, lowering their blood
pressure, and eating a
healthy diet.
Researchers have also
previously identified certain nutrients that might help protect a person’s eyes
from glaucoma, including omega-3 fatty
acids, vitamin B3, vitamin A,
vitamin C, and the antioxidants lutein and
zeaxanthin.
Now, a new study recently published in the
journal Cell Reports Medicine adds to this
body of knowledge by reporting that supplementation with B vitamins and the
essential nutrient choline may help slow the
progression of glaucoma, via a mouse model.
Focusing on the amino acid
homocysteine
For this study,
researchers focused on an amino acid that naturally occurs in the body
called homocysteine. Homocysteine plays a crucial role in protein
synthesis.
However, past studies
show that too much homocysteine in the body — known as hyperhomocysteinemia —
can lead to health issues such as cardiovascular
problems, cognitive
decline, and elevated risk for
stroke. High homocysteine levels can also be an indicator of a
vitamin B deficiency, as B vitamins are what help break down homocysteine in
the body.
Past studies have linked high
homocysteine levels to the development and progression of glaucoma.
However, in this current
study, researchers found when mice with glaucoma were given higher levels of
homocysteine, it did not make their glaucoma worse. They also discovered that
increased amounts of homocysteine in the blood were not linked to how fast the
disease progressed.
“Our conclusion is that homocysteine is a bystander
in the disease process, not a player,” James Tribble, researcher and
assistant professor at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at the
Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and co-lead author of this study said in
a press release.
“Altered homocysteine
levels may reveal that the retina has
lost its ability to use certain vitamins that are necessary to maintain healthy
metabolism. That’s why we wanted to investigate whether supplements of these
vitamins could protect the retina,” he said.
B vitamin + choline helps slow
glaucoma progression
Researchers then
provided supplements of B vitamins — including B6, B9 (folate),
and B12 — as well as the essential nutrient choline to the
glaucoma mouse model.
Scientists discovered that in mice with slow
development of glaucoma, the optic nerve damage was completely stopped. And in
mice with a more aggressive form of glaucoma, the supplementation helped slow
down the disease’s progression.
The researchers
mentioned that in all experiments with the mouse glaucoma model, eye pressure
was not treated. Glaucoma is normally associated with elevated eye pressure
or intraocular pressure (IOP). A primary treatment for glaucoma
is lowering the eye’s IOP through the use of medications, laser treatments, or
surgery.
Scientists believe this
shows that the vitamin supplementation may impact glaucoma in a different way
than lower eye pressure.
Researchers are now reportedly
beginning a clinical trial to test their findings on humans.
Could vitamins help save
eyesight?
Medical News Today had the opportunity to speak with David I.
Geffen, OD, FAAO, director of optometric and refractive services at
the Gordon Schanzlin New Vision in La Jolla, CA, about this study.
“Any new method of
decreasing the damage from glaucoma is a welcome addition to our ability to
save eyesight,” Geffen commented. “This could be revolutionary in, it is one of
the first studies to show supplements will help control glaucoma. As our
population is aging, we are seeing a large increase of glaucoma patients in our
practice.”
“Because glaucoma is a
progressive disease and we do not have a cure, any new treatment is a welcome
addition,” he continued. “We know glaucoma medications seem to be less
effective over time. Therefore, we need to keep finding more new ways to help
control this process and eventually cure the disease. This treatment may be an
important way to look at new ways to control glaucoma.”
“In the future I would
like to see some longer-term studies with glaucoma patients,” Geffen added. “I
would also like to see investigations on similar types of treatments utilizing
other supplements.”
Any discovery to help slow
glaucoma progression is a good thing
MNT also
spoke with Benjamin Bert, MD, a board certified ophthalmologist at
MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, about this
research.
Bert commented that
anytime we make any discoveries that show the potential to slow or prevent any
damage from diseases like glaucoma is always a good thing.
“There have been other
nutrition studies that have been done in the past that have shown some benefit,
and so anything that we can add to what we can do on a daily basis is, of
course, of great importance and great interest,” he added.
“Right
now, the only treatments that we have for glaucoma specifically are eye drops
and surgeries to lower the eye pressure, but we’re discovering more and more
that there’s other things that are happening that can actually cause the
progression of the glaucoma. So continuing to explore the actual background of
why this damage is happening is very important to be able to develop other
treatments for it, and also ways to prevent it from happening in the first
place.”
— Benjamin Bert, MD
“And this study, in particular, kind of identified
homocysteine as one of the metabolic components that was causing some of the
damage, which had been thought of before but not directly treated,” he added.
“And with the vitamin supplements showing some prevention benefit, that’s an
exciting thing for us to be able to have on the horizon.”
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