MONDAY, April 12 (HealthDay News) -- For nonsmoking patients with retinitis pigmentosa taking vitamin A, the addition of daily lutein supplements can slow the progressive loss of sensitivity in the mid-peripheral visual field, according to a study published in the April issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.
Eliot L. Berson, M.D., of Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues randomized 225 nonsmoking patients with retinitis pigmentosa to receive either 12 mg of lutein daily or a placebo. Subjects also received vitamin A palmitate (15,000 IU/d). The groups were evaluated for disease progression over four years, including their scores on the Humphrey Field Analyzer (HFA) 30-2 and 60-4 programs, 30-Hz electroretinogram amplitude, and Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study acuity.
The researchers found no significant difference between the groups in the rate of vision decline as measured by the HFA 30-2 program. However, they did observe a decrease in the mean rate of mid-peripheral visual field sensitivity loss in the lutein group as measured by the HFA 60-4 program. The decline was slower among patients with the highest serum lutein level or with the greatest increase in macular pigment optical density. The researchers estimated mid-peripheral visual field sensitivity could be preserved three to 10 additional years with lutein supplementation, and they did not observe significant toxic effects.
"The present trial was conducted in current nonsmokers and therefore the recommendation for 12-mg/d lutein supplementation is limited to adult patients with typical retinitis pigmentosa who do not smoke. The long-term safety of lutein even in nonsmokers remains to be established," the authors write.
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