Effects of Antioxidants on Human Macular Pigments

February 27, 2009 updated by: National Eye Institute (NEI)

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the United States. Low dietary intake or low blood levels of lutein and zeaxanthin, which are the only pigments found in the macular region of the human retina, has been associated with an increased risk for AMD. We have reported that the dietary supplementation of lutein and zeaxanthin can increase the macular pigments (MP) of the eye. MP effectively absorbs blue light as well as quenches reactive oxygen species (ROS). Green tea polyphenols are also effective scavenger of ROS in vitro.

Our goal is to elucidate how to effectively increase MP by physiologic levels of antioxidant supplementation. We hypothesize that lutein and tea polyphenols protect the macula of the eye by increasing MP carotenoids effectively through an antioxidant mechanism.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

40

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02111
        • Jean Mayer USDA-Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

46 years to 66 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Normal hematologic parameters, normal serum albumin, normal liver function, normal kidney function, absence of fat malabsorption and no drug intake which would interfere with fat absorption, metabolism or blood clotting
  • non-smokers

Exclusion Criteria:

  • A history of kidney stones, active small bowel disease or resection, atrophic gastritis, hyperlipidemia, insulin-requiring diabetes, alcoholism, pancreatic disease, or bleeding disorders
  • Exogenous hormone users
  • weighing greater than 20% above or below the NHANES median standard
  • subjects with serum lutein/zeaxanthin concentrations that are more than 150 % of median of normal population (as previously reported in NHANES III at same age group)
  • early age related macular degeneration, cataract, or glaucoma except for those with age appropriate progression of the eye status.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 1
lutein
Dietary supplement: Lutein
Lutein (12 mg/d)
Experimental: 2
Lutein plus green tea extract
Dietary supplement: Lutein plus green tea extract
lutein (12 mg/d) plus green tea extract (200 mg/d)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
macular pigments, Plasma lutein concentrations
Time Frame: Every month - baseline, 1, 2, 3, & 4 months
Every month - baseline, 1, 2, 3, & 4 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

National Eye Institute (NEI)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

September 1, 2004

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2007

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 17, 2008

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 17, 2008

First Posted (Estimate)

July 21, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

March 3, 2009

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 27, 2009

Last Verified

February 1, 2009

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R03EY015674 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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