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Dietary nitrate intake is associated with a lower risk for progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a study. Geoffrey K. Broadhead, M.D., Ph.D., from the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues examined the association between dietary nitrate intake and AMD progression using data from the prospective Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) and AREDS2 randomized clinical trial cohorts and extended follow-up studies. Data were included for 7,788 participants in the combined AREDS/AREDS2 cohort, with 13,511 eligible eyes. The researchers found that in the combined AREDS/AREDS2 cohort, dietary nitrate intake was associated...

The Age-Related Eye Disease Studies (AREDS and AREDS2) established that dietary supplements can slow progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of blindness in older Americans. In a new report, scientists analyzed 10 years of AREDS2 data. They show that the AREDS2 formula, which substituted antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin for beta-carotene, not only reduces risk of lung cancer due to beta-carotene, but is also more effective at reducing risk of AMD progression, compared to the original formula. AMD is a degenerative disease of the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. Progressive death of...