Role of Lutein Supplementation in the Management of Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Abstract

Objective: The conduct of this meta-analysis aimed at examining the individual role of lutein as a dietary supplement in improving conditions of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) from the data generated from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Method: The literature search was made in multiple electronic databases. Eligibility criteria were RCTs that recruited AMD patients or individuals at risk and evaluated lutein supplementation efficacy against placebo. The quality of the trials was assessed by using the Jadad scale. The meta-analysis was conducted under the fixed effect model with RevMan software by calculating the mean differences of the changes from baseline of both lutein and placebo groups. Parameters of interest were macular pigment optical density (MPOD) and visual acuity (VA) in logMAR (minimum angle of resolution). Heterogeneity was determined by χ² and I² and publication bias was assessed by visual examination of funnel plots. Results: After following predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, five RCTs that recruited 445 participants were selected for the meta-analysis. It has been found that lutein treatment was associated with a significant improvement in MPOD, with mean differences between lutein and placebo groups in the changes from baseline of 0.09 (95% CI: 0.06, 0.12; p < 0.00001). VA also improved with a mean difference between lutein and placebo groups in the changes from baseline of −0.04 (95% CI−0.07, 0.00; p = 0.05). Statistical heterogeneity was not apparent. Conclusion: A statistically highly significant effect of lutein supplementation has been observed for improving the MPOD, whereas the improvement in VA was milder. A daily dose of 10 mg was found as effective as higher doses in this meta-analysis. However, the number of input studies is not adequate for conclusive evidence.

Lutein Attenuates Both Apoptosis and Autophagy upon Cobalt (II) Chloride-Induced Hypoxia in Rat Műller Cells

“…Lutein is also an efficient pigment for absorbing high energy blue light and protects photoreceptors from phototoxicity [10,11]; therefore lutein is known as a potent anti-oxidant and oxygen free radical scavenger. Clinically, lutein has been found to improve visual function and macular pigment optical density in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) [12–14]. In addition, lutein has been shown to be neuroprotective in different retinal disease models including endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU), light-induced retinal degeneration and retinal ischemia/reperfusion injury [1,15,16].…”

No influence of supplemental dietary calcium intake on the bioavailability of spinach carotenoids in humans

“…Their dietary intake, especially in the form of fruits and vegetables, as well as circulating tissue levels have been associated in epidemiological studies with not only the reduced incidence of several chronic diseases including cardiometabolic complications ( 1 , 2 ) and some types of cancer ( 3 , 4 ) , but also with all-cause mortality ( 5 ) , though their contribution to vitamin A intake, especially in developing countries and for vegetarians, is also important ( 6 , 7 ) . Furthermore, low carotenoid intake has been associated with age-related macular degeneration ( 8 , 9 ) , the major cause of blindness in the elderly.…”

Current bioeconomical interest in stramenopilic Eustigmatophyceae: a review

“…Humans and animals cannot synthesize Lut and can naturally obtain it by ingesting plants. Despite controversial opinions on its exact role and even underestimation and underappreciation by clinicians and vision researchers, recent studies show that dietary supplements containing Lut reduce progression of agerelated macular degeneration and cataract formation, enhance curation of other ocular diseases and support the functions of normal eyes [31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. Moreover, it was extensively reported that consumption of food rich in Lut is associated with lower incidence of cancer and cardiovascular diseases [37].…”