UAMS Seeks Participants for Vision Loss National Study

University of Arkansas for Medical Science (UAMS) seeks participants with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) for a study to measure the impact of vitamins and fish oil on the disease.  AMD occurs when the small central portion of the retina, known as the macula, is damaged.  The retina is the light-sensing nerve tissue at the back of the eye.  The patient's central vision becomes blurred as the disease progresses. 
      The UAMS Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute (JEI) is taking part in this study, sponsored by the National Eye Institute, along with 100 other centers around the country.  This study attempts to determine if a combination of vitamins, minerals, and fish oil can slow or even prevent vision loss from AMD, which is the leading cause of vision loss in the US for people over 60.  This five-year study follows previous research which showed that high-dose antioxidant vitamins and minerals reduced the risk of additional vision loss. 
      Study participants must be between the ages of 50 and 85 and also have large drusen-yellow deposits under the retina in either eye, which can be an early sign of AMD.  Participants can also have advanced AMD in one eye and a large drusen in the other eye.  This study, the Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2, will include two initial eye exams, then annual exams for five years.  All of the supplements and daily multivitamins necessary for the study will be provided at no charge to study participants. 
            Dr. Ammar Safar, a retina specialist at the eye institute and associate professor in the UAMS College of Medicine, says, "This new study will seek to find if the combination of these important nutrients can help preserve vision."
      For more information on this clinical trial, contact Deborah Troillett of the Jones Eye Institute at 501-526-6394 or Shirley Hankins at 501-296-1156.