MARCH 8, 2012 MACULAR DEGENERATION : MELATONIN TREATMENT

"CONTINUALLY REMIND YOURSELF THAT YOU ARE PART OF SOMETHING LARGER THAN YOU."

I am a small fish in the world. I am always part of something larger than myself. I am part of something larger than life itself. I am a worker on Earth Mother. If I can do my part to save Earth Mother for our children, then I have done some good here in this lifetime. It is the stepping stone for another life.
I will never be an Einstein, nor a Roosevelt nor a Nobel Prize lauerate, but I am an individual who has made a difference in one person's life. That is all it takes. I love what I do and that is the important aspect to keep in mind. I am a part ...that is the point

Macular degeneration (or ARMD- age related macular degeneration) is the slow deterioration of the cells of the macula. The macula is a tiny yellowish area near the center of the retina where vision is the most precise. This affects the patient's peripheral vision. It thus allows the patient to have difficulty with reading, driving, writing and recognizing faces. I have many patients with ARMD. The sad fact is that those with ARMD will lose their eye sight.

There are two types of ARMD- one is the dry type. This type is where deposits called drusens form under the macular. Drusens are thought to be waste products and it has been postulated that more antioxidants will prevent the formation of drusens. This is what I want to hear when a patient states he/she has ARMD- I want he/she to have the dry type. The drusen break down and distort the vision. So building up of antioxidants will prevent the initial formation of the drusens.

Some of the symptoms of ARMD are: straight lines look wavy, distinct shapes are blurry, colors look dim, and fog in the center of the vision. Those at risk include women, smokers, diabetics, those with hypertension, those who cannot absorb nutrients through the GI tract (those with malabsorbtion, 'leaky gut' IBS , Celiac and the non celiac gluten sensitive). The whole class of NSAID drugs like advil, motrin (the non steroidals) can cause visual side effects in other diseases. This is especially true when used a lot.

Despite conventional treatments there is no good effective treatment

A new study revealed that supplementing with melatonin (and additional zinc and selenium) can help stabilize the vision of both wet and dry types of ARMD. I only discussed the dry type. The study group had 100 patients (either wet or dry). Each patient received orally MELATONIN, zinc, and selenium at night for minimum of 3 months. 55 patients continued longer to 6 months and beyond. Some did 12 or 24 months. Ongoing evaluations were made. The study reported that at 2-3 months of treatment kept the visual acuity stable and during that time vision loss was halted. For those past 6 months and 12 months, the health of the fundus (back portion of the eyeball) improved dramatically.

Do you think many ophthalmologists use nutrition and supplements to help vision? There are many studies documenting the benefits of lutein and bilberry. It is a special formula to get Melatonin, zinc and selenium. It was developed by melatonin expert, Dr Pierpaoli.

Kudos to the scientists

Until tomorrow...