Q&A: Taking part in clinical trials/choosing the correct supplement

Question: A reader asked the following question: Is there any research going on at this time that one can become a part of? I am 66 years of age and have been told that I have external drusens...2004. My sister, age 64 had external drusens, but now has "hard drusens" that have invaded the iris, if I understand her correctly. Our father, who died at age 92 had macular degeneration and was legally blind. I have been taking ICAPs with lutein, but in reading your current article, I might not be taking the correct product.

Answer: I am not sure what your doctor meant by “external drusen.” He may have meant, “extensive drusen.” With your father’s history though, it sounds unfortunately like you have early AMD. There are no studies that you can take part in right now. The Complications of AMD Trial (CAPT) is testing whether light laser to the macula of patients with drusen reduce the risk of visual loss. This trial has completed recruitment and will announce its results shortly. I would not have laser now though.

The National Eye Institute is planning the Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2, which is testing whether supplementation with 10 mg of lutein, 2 mg of zeaxanthin, and one gram of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is helpful in reducing the progression of AMD. DHA is one of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids that has been found to he so helpful in also reducing inflammation and cardiovascular disease. AREDS 2 will be an excellent study but has not yet started.

As I wrote in the July 5th blog, ICAPS with lutein has only 6,600 international units (IU) of beta-carotene, yet the AREDS study used 25,000 IU. I worry about this. I would take one of the supplements listed in the blog that contains the full AREDS dose. Then you could take lutein 10mg and zeaxanthin 2mg separately if you wish and one gram of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) which is one of the active forms of omega-3 fatty acids. You are also able to get these amounts of lutein/zexanthin in your diet by eating the following vegetables:

Kale- 22 mg per cup
Turnip greens- 18 mg per cup
Spinach- cooked 15 mg per cup
Collard greens- 15 mg per cup
Spinach raw- 7 mg per cup
Corn- 3.0 mg per cup
Peas 2.2 mg per cup
Brussel sprouts 1 mg per cup


You should eat take in 1.5 grams of omega-3 fatty acids per day or around 10 grams per week on average by eating the following:

Wild Salmon- 4 mg per cup
Sardines 3.5 mg per cup
Herring- 2 mg per cup
Tuna- 2 mg per cup
Halibut- 1 mg per cup

Seeds and nuts also have omega-3 oils that are converted by the body into the active form in a ten to one ratio. So it takes 10 grams of nut oil to make one gram of the active form of fatty acid found in fish. The following nuts are high in omega-s oils:

Flaxseeds- 56 grams per cup
Flaxseed oil- 2 grams per tablespoon
Walnuts- 9 grams per cup

If I were you, I would take the regular I-CAPS or one of the others listed, and then eat a diet rich in the above nutrients. Thanks for asking.

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ClinicalTrials.gov (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/) provides regularly updated information about federally and privately supported clinical research in human volunteers. ClinicalTrials.gov gives you information about a trial's purpose, who may participate, locations, and phone numbers for more details. The information provided on ClinicalTrials.gov should be used in conjunction with advice from health care professionals.

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