Eating plenty of antioxidant-rich food such as
blueberries, artichokes and pecans may help protect against
macular degeneration, the leading cause of age-related blindness
in the United States and other developed countries.
U.S. researchers found that antioxidants disrupt
a link between two processes in the retina that, in combination,
contribute to macular degeneration. Antioxidants also extend the
lifetime of irreplaceable photoreceptors and other retinal
cells.
The "destructive synergy" that causes macular
degeneration occurs when a buildup of a compound called A2E
disrupts energy production in mitochondria, the "power plants"
in cells, the researchers said. The lack of energy interferes
with daily cleaning and maintenance of photoreceptors and
another type of retinal cell. This leads to more buildup of A2E
and a continuing cycle that result in the destruction of the
vital visual cells that can't be replaced.
Experiments using visual cells from humans, rats
and cows showed that antioxidants could completely counter the
damage caused by this process, said the researchers from Brigham
Young University and Weill Medical College of Cornell
University.
"The implication is that people at risk of
macular degeneration could help prevent the disease by consuming
antioxidants", study author Heidi Vollmer-Snarr, a Brigham Young
chemist, said in a university news release.
The study was published online in the Journal
of Biological Chemistry.
"This work by Dr. Vollmer-Snarr and colleagues
ties these two damaging processes together and demonstrates the
harm they cause in combination is much more than would be
expected," Dr. Paul Bernstein, of the University of Utah's Moran
Eye Center, said in the news release. "This new knowledge,"
added Bernstein, who wasn't involved in the study, "suggests the
possibility of interventions which could prove to be powerful
ways to prevent or delay age-related macular degeneration."
By HealthDay
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