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Vitamin A Supplement and Omega-3 Rich Diet can help sustain visual acuity in patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa
By jeremyc | February 16, 2012
According to a recent research report, taking a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids and supplementing Vitamin A can help in slowing down visual loss in patients with retinitis pigmentosa. Eliot Berson, MD, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, Boston, revealed that patients who take vitamin A palmitate everyday and those who eat a couple of 3-ounce servings of oily fish every week lose their distance and retinal acuity slowly, as compared to those who eat less of these.
The researchers found earlier that taking omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin A supplements in sufficient amounts help in preservation of the central visual field sensitivity. In the Archives of Ophthalmology published over the Internet, it is mentioned that a diet rich in vitamin A and omega-3 fatty acids helps the patients with retinitis pigmentosa to retain their central visual field and visual acuity.
One in every 4000 people suffer from Retinosa pigmentosa. Symptoms of the condition include night blindness during adolescent years and lost side vision during early adulthood. As the condition progresses, the patient starts developing tunnel vision and by the age of 60, he or she becomes virtually blind.
Berson, along with colleagues, conducted three different trials, each of which lasted for 4 to 6 years. They proved that treating the patient with 15,000 IU of vitamin A palmitate daily and giving an omega-3 rich diet slows down the rate of retinal function decline significantly. Such effects are applicable to visual field or electroretinogram of the patient only, and not for retinal or distance acuity. Therefore, the researchers decided to combine data from all the three trials to find effects on the patient’s visual acuity.
The trials included 357 adult patients, aging from 18 to 60 years. All of them were given vitamin A palmitate during the experiments and were asked to complete a food frequency questionnaire every year. The patients were then divided into two groups, depending on whether they take a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids or deficient in it. It was found that 215 of the patients took an average of 0.30 grams of omega-3 fatty acids per day, while 142 of them took a diet low in omega-3, taking an average of 0.12 grams per day.
It was found that those who took sufficient amounts of omega-3 fatty acids declined slowly in the ETDRS distance acuity chart. It is a measure that determines the total number of letters the patient can identify on a chart. Those who took sufficient omega-3 fatty acids declined by 0.59 letters every year, while those who took a diet deficient in omega-3 declined by 1 letter per year. Those who took high omega-3 diet also declined slowly in Snellen retinal acuity.
According to the team of researchers, the observed effects were because the combination of omega-3 rich diet and vitamin A supplement preserved the patients’ central retinal function. If such rates can be sustained for a long time, an average patient having retinitis pigmentosa may sustain his or her visual acuity for additional 18 years, if he or she is given vitamin A and omega-3 rich diet from the age of 35.
Topics: | Vitamins |
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