January 06, 2006

The Journal of The American Medical Association (JAMA) published new data from the population-based prospective cohort Rotterdam Study in the December 28th 2005 issue titled The Dietary Intake of Antioxidants and Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

December 30, 2005

The last Friday Pearl of the year addresses the 2005 American Academy of Ophthalmology's series of guidelines called Preferred Practice Patterns (PPP). These patterns identify characteristics and components of quality eye care for the purpose of detecting and diagnosing vision, health, or life-threatening disease.

December 16, 2005

The Lewin Group was commissioned in early 2005 by the Dietary Supplement Education Alliance (DSEA) to critically review the research literature concerning Omega-3 fatty acids, lutein and zeaxanthin. As the population lives longer, reducing the level of disability caused by age-related diseases is becoming more important. Activities central to independent living, which include reading, driving, and writing, are considerably impaired through the loss of central vision due to AMD.

December 02, 2005

For the non-scientists, meta-analyses combine similar small studies together in an attempt to better assess the effects of a treatment. Meta-analyses are often considered the final word on the effects of those treatments, although there are serious limitations to this approach. When studies have different designs or inclusion parameters, deciding which studies to combine and which to leave out ...

November 18, 2005

A paradoxical effect of certain genes associated with type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's and macular degeneration is linked in various studies to elevated homocysteine level, which is linked back to vitamin B6, B12 and folate deficiency. The oral insulin medications prescribed today for most type 2 diabetics is metformin and glyburide: both further inhibit normal absorption of vitamin B12 and folate.

November 11, 2005

Controlling oxidative stress (free radical damage) is a pivotal factor for chronic degenerative diseases of the eye and brain. Current science suggests that neurotoxic peptide amyloid-beta (Abeta) can accumulate in the brain and vascular system of those who inherit a specific set of genes.

November 05, 2005

The positive ions associated with warm dry high-wind storms like the one that blew over the Colorado Rocky Mountain Front Range this week (84 miles per hour winds in Colorado Springs) are suggested in the literature to dramatically contribute to dry eye symptoms and other maladies.

October 28, 2005

Curcumin is a dietary compound with diverse antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic effects. The strong anti-oxidative activity in curcuminoids, the main yellow pigments in Curcuma longa (turmeric), have been used widely and for a long time in the treatment of chronic inflammation in indigenous medicine.

October 21, 2005

The American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting proved to be a great launching pad for two new Biosyntrx products: Zeaxanthin4 and ZoOmega-3. Peer-reviewed science strongly supports the use of high-quality concentrated supplemental Omega-3s on days that cold water fish is not consumed, and zeaxanthin science continues to strongly suggest that the central macula preference is for zeaxanthin, not lutein.

October 14, 2005

We are continuing last week's Friday Pearl discussion on Ginkgo biloba based on reader's response and requests. The lack of real scientific evidence supporting the supposed danger of supplemental Ginkgo biloba is beginning to read a bit like Samuel Beckett's grim play, Waiting for Godot, which is about two men standing in a field near a bridge waiting and waiting for something, and telling each other that whatever it is will come any minute. "Nothing really happens, nobody really comes, nobody really goes, it's awful!"