The Beneflts of Nutritional Supplementation

Maintaining collagen integrity can play an important role in both treatment and prevention of glaucoma. Vitamin C and MSM are known to improve the condition of collagen structure throughout the body. In clinical studies, it has also reduced IOP levels in some patients who were unresponsive to standard glaucoma drugs. Dosage may be administered orally or intravenously and patients must be monitored to achieve optimal dosing benefits. Intravenous administration is the most effective means of reducing IOP, but must be done on a continued basis. MSM eye drops used 3 to 5 times daily is also effective in draining the eye.

Bioflavonoids also aid collagen metaboe* u. These compounds have been shown to improve capillary integrity, prevent free-radical damage, and inhibit cross-linking with collagen fibers to form a more stable collagen matrix. European bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), an anthocyanoside, has been used in Europe for a variety of eye problems, with very good results. Rutin, a citrus bioflavonoid, has been used successfully as an adjunct to lower IOP Subclinical hypothyroidism (see Thyroid Deficiency protocol) should be evaluated and treated if found to further lower intraocular pressure.

Ginkgo biloba extracts, standardized to 24% ginkgo flavonglysides, demonstrated some improvement in reducing IOP and improving visual field in glaucoma patients at dosages of 160 mg a day for 4 weeks and then 120 mg a day thereafter. Although only mild improvements were seen, the severity of the condition deemed the results relevant.

The effects of magnesium are similar to those of drugs used as "channel blockers" in the treatment of glaucoma. Channel blockers block the entry of calcium to produce relaxation of the arteries. Glaucoma patients given magnesium at a dose of 121.5 mg twice a day for 4 weeks showed improvement in blood supply and visual field due to the effects of relaxing constricted blood vessels.

Other dietary supplements shown to contribute to a reduction in IOP are chromium and omega-3 oils. Chromium aids in the ability of eye muscles to focus. In a study of 400 eye patients, deficiencies in either vitamin C or chromium were associated with elevated IOP In animal studies, cod liver oil was shown to significantly reduce IOP when administered orally or intramuscularly. When removed from dosing, IOP levels returned to baseline.

CHROMIUM

Chromium is a glucose-uptake insulin-reccptor potentiator, which is thought to enable sustained strong ciliary-muscle eye-focusing activity. A deficiency is associated with elevated intraocular pressure, which tends to stretch the eye to reduce the need for focusing power (Lane).

Primary open-angle glaucoma appears to be strongly associated with erythrocyte chromium deficiency. In fact, the most significant biochemical differcntiator between normals and persons with primary open-angle glaucoma is erythrocyte chromium (Lane).

Based on informal clinical observations, patients who are likely to respond to chromium repletion are likely to have undrugged intraocular pressures of more than 20 mm Hg as well as erythrocyte chromium levels of no more than 150 ng/ml (Lane). These observations need confirmation with formal controlled trials.

LIPOIC ACID

Levels of the antioxidant glutathione have been found to be low in lacrimal fluid (Fifina, 1993), anterior chamber humor, and red cells (Bunin) in patients with chronic open-angle glaucoma.

Based on measurements in lacrimal fluid, supplementation with alpha-lipoic acid appears to be an effective means of providing antioxidant therapy of chronic open-angle glaucoma by increasing glutathione levels (Fifina, 1993). Moreover, in a controlled study, supplementation improved visual function in patients with stage I or II open-angle glaucoma (Filina, 1995).

Hydergine, a prescription drug, enhances energy cycles in the eye that are necessary to move aqueous humor into and out of the eye . A dose of 5 to 20 mg a day of Hydergine could be effective in lowering intraocular pressure. It is mandatory that you have regular intraocular pressure tests administered by an ophthalmologist if you are trying to use Hydergine as a treatment for glaucoma.

Supplemental thiamine should be considered by the glaucoma patient as well. In two separate studies conducted in the U.S. and Russia, glaucomatous patients were found to have significantly lower thiamine levels than controls. Thiamine, in daily dosages of up to 20 mg, was administered both parenterally and orally with improvement of visual functions observed between days 2 and 6. As stated earlier, aminoguanidine may help save the vision of patients with hard-to-treat glaucoma, according to the August 17, 1999 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (1999; 96:9944-48). This study showed that only 10% of crucial vision cells in the retina were lost in a group of aminoguanidine-supplemented rats compared to a 36% loss of retinal cells in the group not receiving aminoguanidine. The study was funded by the National Eye Institute and the Glaucoma Foundation. Dr. Robert Ritch, chair of the Foundation's scientific advisory board, said, "Although the current investigations do not yet translate into clinical use, this [study] is the sort of breakthrough research that could eventually lead to a stemming of vision loss from glaucoma." The recommended safe dose of aminoguanidine is 300 mg a day. Aminoguanidine is especially important for diabetics, who suffer from greatly accelerated glycosylation throughout their body. It appears that the glycosylation mechanism of damage is responsible for vision problems caused by cataracts and glaucoma.

For more information, Contact the Glaucoma Research Foundation, (800) 826-6693.