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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, December 11, 2013
Something’s Fishy About Macular Degeneration Fish Oil Studies
by Bill Sardi
(OMNS Dec 11, 2013) Just seven months ago National Eye Institute researchers claimed fish oil “doesn’t seem to help macular degeneration,” (1) a sight-robbing eye disease that plagues adults in their senior years.
So how could another newly published study produce exactly opposite results? In fact, fish oil didn’t just slow down the insidious progression of this eye disease, it restored vision to every patient placed on high-dose fish oil. It was therapeutic and curative, not just preventive.
The study I’m referring to is likely to be dismissed. The study group was small - only 25 patients. There was no inactive placebo pill given to another group of patients for comparison, a requirement for scientific validity. And it’s also possible (but not plausible) that all the patients in the study were abjectly deficient in omega-3 fish oils, producing an atypical effect. But the study group was based in the Mediterranean where fish consumption is high. And it’s not likely any placebo effect was involved.
The study is so convincing, especially when combined with all of the positive fish oil studies conducted over the last decade (see chart below), eye physicians would now be derelict in their duty not to recommend every long-living senior adult to consume more fish, or better yet - take concentrated fish oil capsules, if they want to maintain their sight throughout their retirement years.
Growing evidence
The study I’m referring to was just published in the PharmNutrition journal. (2) It raises many questions, particularly why has it taken so long to discover high-dose fish oil can restore lost sight to many Americans. The data pointing to fish oil as a dietary agent that can stave off vision loss with advancing age has been growing for over a decade.
Except for one “fishy” study, all other human clinical fish oil studies published over the past 13 years indicate fish oil slows down or prevents macular degeneration, a sight-robbing condition that affects central vision used for reading, driving and face recognition.
The latest published study was more momentous than prior studies as it didn’t just show fish oil slows down the progression of the disease; it actually began to restore vision to patients within days of starting a daily regimen of high-dose fish oil capsules.
Slowing macular degeneration down is one thing, but reversing it is another. There is no cure for the common form of the disease, called dry macular degeneration. Antioxidant dietary supplements recommended for this disease slow down its progression by maybe 10 percent at best.
Macular degeneration patients began experiencing improvement in visual acuity from the get-go. After six months a third of the patients could see letters that were three lines smaller on the eye chart. Another third saw two lines better and the remaining third a single line of improvement.
100% of patients with macular degeneration experienced improved vision when the normal course of the disease is insidiously progressive loss of central vision.
High dose
The dose of fish oil was the highest used in any study so far — 5000 milligrams (3400 mg EPA, 1600 mg DHA), or a bit less than two tablespoons a day. That much fish oil is likely to be costly for retirees on fixed incomes, around two dollars a day. A six-month six-month course would certainly be worth the investment, especially when some seniors might be able to renew their driver’s license or resume activities that help them stay independent.
The one “fishy” negative study was reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association in May of this year. (3) National Eye Institute researchers said fish oil "doesn't seem to help age-related macular degeneration."
That study compared a low dose of omega-3 fish oil with an antioxidant formula providing lutein, zeaxanthin, zinc and copper (no true placebo group or inactive pill was used). The dose of fish oils in the treatment group was much lower than prior studies.
Some skeptical researchers I have consulted express concerns over the fact this study was conducted largely among well-nourished subjects who likely eat a lot of fish in their diet. I’m informed that the comparison group consumed up to 720 milligrams of fish oil from their daily diet. Also some study subjects in the comparison group may have been supplementing with folic acid which raises blood levels of omega-3 oils. (4) Researchers concede that “study results may not be generalizable, because the study population is a highly selected group of highly educated and well-nourished people.” Was the study rigged to fail?
(Bill Sardi is a well-known nutritional medicine writer and is the founder of Knowledge of Health, Inc. http://knowledgeofhealth.com/ Copyright (C) 2013 Bill Sardi and reprinted with his permission.)
References:
2. Georgiou T, Neokleous A, Nicolaou D, Sears B. Pilot study for treating dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with high-dose omega-3 fatty acids. PharmaNutrition, Available online 18 October 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.phanu.2013.10.001
3. The Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2) Research Group. Lutein + Zeaxanthin and Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Age-Related Macular Degeneration: The Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2) Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2013;309(19):2005-2015. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.4997. http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1684847
4. Das UN. Folic acid and polyunsaturated fatty acids improve cognitive function and prevent depression, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease--but how and why? Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2008 Jan;78(1):11-9. Epub 2007 Nov 28. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18054217
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Editorial Review Board:
Ian Brighthope, M.D. (Australia)
Ralph K. Campbell, M.D. (USA) Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. (USA) Damien Downing, M.D. (United Kingdom) Dean Elledge, D.D.S., M.S. (USA) Michael Ellis, M.D. (Australia) Martin P. Gallagher, M.D., D.C. (USA) Michael Gonzalez, D.Sc., Ph.D. (Puerto Rico) William B. Grant, Ph.D. (USA) Steve Hickey, Ph.D. (United Kingdom) Michael Janson, M.D. (USA) Robert E. Jenkins, D.C. (USA) Bo H. Jonsson, M.D., Ph.D. (Sweden) Peter H. Lauda, M.D. (Austria) Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D. (USA) Stuart Lindsey, Pharm.D. (USA) Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, Pharm.D. (Puerto Rico) Karin Munsterhjelm-Ahumada, M.D. (Finland) Erik Paterson, M.D. (Canada) W. Todd Penberthy, Ph.D. (USA) Gert E. Schuitemaker, Ph.D. (Netherlands) Robert G. Smith, Ph.D. (USA) Jagan Nathan Vamanan, M.D. (India) Atsuo Yanagisawa, M.D., Ph.D. (Japan)
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