Category: Retinitis Pigmentosa

Omega-3s Can Reduce Heart Failure Hospitalizations

Image courtesy of sokhcn.baria-vungtau.gov.vn

Here’s another example of how omega 3 fatty acids can benefit your health: omega-3s can help people suffering from heart failure.

In a study presented at the Heart Failure Society of America 2010 Scientific Meeting, researchers stated that those taking omega-3s over a four year period “demonstrated a minor but statistically significant improvement in LVEF [left ventricular ejection fraction]. . . these effects were also associated with a reduction in hospitalizations for heart failure.”

Source: heartwire

We highly recommend that those wishing to prevent or suffering from such eye conditions as glaucoma, cone-rod disorders, retinitis pigmentosa, or diabetic retinopathy consider taking a daily dose of omega-3 fish oil.  Check with your doctor first, however, if you are taking a blood thinner.

Potential Retinitis Pigmentosa Cure Using Adult Stem Cells

Researchers are working to find a way to use adult stem cells to treat retinitis pigmentosa. Scientists at the University of Nebraska Medical Center are trying to replicate in humans what has been possible in rats and mice: making stem cells in the back of they eye become like the light-capturing cells that have deteriorated in retinitis pigmentosa sufferers.  In addition to offering hope to those with RP, this study, published in PLoS One, also gives a window into the potential uses of adult stem cells now that the embryonic stem cell controversy has been revived.

Source: https://www.omaha.com/article/20100906/NEWS01/709069937/1124

We are still a long way from successful stem cell work, and many like us will always to choose a more natural approach, at least in the beginning. Try these natural retinitis pigmentosa treatment options.

Retinitis Pigmentosa Improves With Vitamin, Supplement Intake

Retinitis Pigmentosa (pigmentosis) is a progressive degenerative disorder of the retina that can cause a profound loss of vision. Various hereditary patterns have been reported. This disease affects 1 out of 3700 people.

A study published in the Archives of Ophthalmologyshowed that taking 15,000 IU of Vitamin A per day can slow the progression of retinitis pigmentosa.  On the other hand, this same study showed that taking Vitamin E supplements actually accelerated vision decline.

The conventional medical opinion posits that there is no treatment or cure for retinitis pigmentosa, but we believe that a progressive approach to maintaining a healthful diet and lifestyle can slow down RP, and, in some cases, even help to preserve vision.  In addition to Vitamin A, supplementing the diet with lutein, omega-3 fatty acids, other antioxidants and COQ10 have all been shown to benefit RP sufferers.

Other Antioxidants

A 2006 study found that high doses of antioxidants (vitamins E, C, alpha lipoic acid others) significantly reduced oxidative damage in cones, increased cone cell density and preserved cone function. These results, according to the Johns Hopkins authors, suggest that the gradual cone death that occurs after rod cells die is due to oxidative damage, and that antioxidants could provide benefit those suffering from Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Omega-3s Support Eye Health

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) already supports the assertion that omega-3 in the form of ALA aids cognitive and eye function and may soon be extending this designation to DHA.  Products will be able to make this claim on their packaging.
Source: nutraingredients

DHA has been documented to help those who suffer from retinitis pigmentosa.

Omega-3 Delivery

Spanish researchers have developed a new way to deliver omega-3 nutrients in more stable capsule form. The new process uses “electrosprayed zein encapsulation.”  It promises to keep omega-3 fatty acid DHA from oxidizing too quickly, a process that leads to foul odors, tastes, and a break down of the beneficial properties.  The traditional animal derived gelatin capsules could be replaced with zein, a type of protein found in maize.

Source: Journal of Food Science

Visit our website to learn about how essential fatty acids are vital to vision health.

Lutein & Vitamin A Helps Retinitis Pigmentosa

A daily supplement of lutein in combination with vitamin A may slow vision loss
associated with retinitis pigmentosa, according to the results of a randomized,
controlled, double-blind trial.

A new randomized, double-blind, control trial suggests that taking12 mg supplemental lutein daily along with  15,000 IU vitamin A may slow damage to mid-peripheral vision that arises from retinitis pigmentosa.

The research suggests that 20 additional years of better mid-peripheral vision can be expected for patients who are 40 who take the recommended supplementation, compared to significant vision loss by the early 50’s.  This further earlier research which indicated that taking vitamin A was helpful for retinal health.

This study included only people who do not smoke – for smokers there are problems in taking lutein.

Published: Clinical Trial of Lutein in Patients With Retinitis Pigmentosa Receiving Vitamin A, Archives of Ophthalmology
2010, Vol. 128, Issue 4, Pages 403-411

Researchers: E.L. Berson, and associates

This substantiates earlier research:

In a 48-week intervention trial, researchers tested Lutein supplementation
for vision protective-function in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The conclusion of the study was as follows: “Comparing the development of vision measures against the natural loss expected to occur over the course of the 48 weeks, most measures showed reduced decline, and these reductions were significant for normal illumination”.

Ophthalmology (BMC Ophthalmology 2006, 6:23)

Microchip Implants May Help Restore Lost Vision

Scientists at MIT and other research organizations are testing chip technologies that could help bring eyesight to individuals with conditions like age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.

Scientists at MIT and other research organizations are testing chip technologies that could help bring eyesight to individuals with conditions like age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.

Microchips place onto or inside the eyeball are assisted by a pair of electronic glasses the patient wears. Results vary, but many subjects report significant improvement in orientation and mobility. MIT hopes to have a device within two years so that they can get FDA approval from for use on chronic patients.

See information on macular degeneration, nutrition and health.

Retinal Device Helps Some With Retinitis Pigmentosa See

More than thirty blind people can now see thanks to new technology that has restored their vision. To date, thirty-eight subjects from the United States, Mexico and Europe with retinitis pigmentosa have received retinal prostheses. While the degree of success has been variable across subjects the results are encouraging.

More than thirty blind people can now see thanks to new technology that has restored their vision. To date, thirty-eight subjects from the United States, Mexico and Europe with retinitis pigmentosa have received retinal prostheses. While the degree of success has been variable across subjects the results are encouraging.

Procedures currently help individuals with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a disease responsible for roughly 200,000 cases of blindness in the United States.

The restoration process starts with an image captured by a small camera attached to a pair of glasses. After streaming through a video processor, the data is then transferred back through the glasses to a tiny electrode “sheet” implanted on the retina. These electrodes use electrical impulses to communicate visual information to undamaged retinal tissue (just as healthy rods and cones would have done). The result is some degree of sight.

Currently the devices have only 60 electrodes, compared to more than 2 million in HD televisions, so images are still rough. Researchers from Second Sight will follow project participants for the next three years to track progress. They hope to develop versions with 200 and 1000 electrodes in the future.

Editor’s Notes: Certain nutrients have been researched as helping to preserve vision for those with Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Retinal Implants Can Restore Some Lost Vision

MIT engineers have designed a retinal implant for people who have lost their vision from retinitis pigmentosa or age-related macular degeneration, two of the leading causes of blindness.
The retinal prosthesis would help restore some vision by electrically stimulating the nerve cells that normally carry visual input from the retina to the brain.

MIT engineers have designed a retinal implant for people who have lost their vision from retinitis pigmentosa or age-related macular degeneration, two of the leading causes of blindness.

The retinal prosthesis would help restore some vision by electrically stimulating the nerve cells that normally carry visual input from the retina to the brain.

The chip would not restore normal vision but could help blind people more easily navigate a room or walk down a sidewalk. “Anything that could help them see a little better and let them identify objects and move around a room would be an enormous help,” says Shawn Kelly, a researcher in MIT’s Research Laboratory for Electronics and member of the Boston Retinal Implant Project.

Patients who received the implant would wear a pair of glasses with a camera that sends images to a microchip attached to the eyeball. The glasses also contain a coil that wirelessly transmits power to receiving coils surrounding the eyeball. When the microchip receives visual information, it activates electrodes that stimulate nerve cells in the areas of the retina corresponding to the features of the visual scene. The electrodes directly activate optical nerves that carry signals to the brain, bypassing the damaged layers of retina.

The research team, led by John Wyatt, MIT professor of electrical engineering and computer science, recently reported a new prototype that they hope to start testing in blind patients within the next three years, after some safety refinements are made. Once human trials begin and blind patients can offer feedback on what they’re seeing, the researchers will learn much more about how to configure the algorithm implemented by the chip to produce useful vision.

Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
See more information on the latest research on nutrition and vision.