From: sbharris@ix.netcom.com (Steven B. Harris )
Subject: Re: Macular Degeneration
Date: 27 Aug 1995
Newsgroups: misc.health.alternative

In <41mjpf$bvr@newsbf02.news.aol.com> bladelady1@aol.com (Bladelady1)
writes:

>My friend's mother is suffering from macular degeneration.  Does anyone
>know of any holistic treatments for this disease?  Please email me.
>
>Thanks,
>Susan


It rather depends on whether it's the wet or dry kind.  For the dry, you
can try eating mellons and corn, which supply the lutein and zeaxanthin
which are major macular pigments and free radical stoppers.  And of
course vitamins C and E don't hurt.   For the wet kind, you need
something to slow capillary growth and leakage, and the most likely
things to try would be soy products and flavonoids of various kinds
(citrus bioflavonoids, bilberry, gingko, pycnogenol, etc).  None of this
has been proven to work, by the way-- it's all sort of theoretical.
However, it is harmless, and won't interfere with standard medical
treatment.

Now, if you want orthodox medical advice, let me suggest that if you
are looking at any kind of wet or angioproliferative macular problem,
you find a proton beam source program (Loma Linda or Harvard Med School)
and get your friend's mom irradiated.  For problems related to diabetes,
laser therapy is more appropriate, but this is not correctly referred to
as macular degeneration, but rather diabetic retinopathy.

                                         Steve Harris, M.D.

From: sbharris@ix.netcom.com(Steven B. Harris)
Newsgroups: sci.med,alt.comp.blind-users,sci.med.pharmacy
Subject: Re: Macula Degeneration and Vitamin E
Date: 22 Jun 1999 10:42:23 GMT

In <376d3a04.9505915@netnews.worldnet.att.net>
taurusryc@worldnet.att.net writes:

>It could very well be true.  Vitamin E promotes the formation of new
>blood vessels which occur with Wet Macula Deneration.  These blood
>vessels break and cause problems.  Vitamin K is supposed to prevent
>bleeding and Vitamin E is antagonistic to Vitamin K.
>
>http://www.ahaf.org/intromd.htm


   My thinking exactly.  Recently they've found that neosporin (given
IV) is a terrific antiangiogenesis agent.  Perhaps really good
treatments for the wet form of mac degen are around the corner at last.
Meanwhile, if you have it, stay way from aspirin, take your vitamin K,
keep the vit E supplements down to RDA or so, take bioflavonoids, and
get your lutein and zeaxanthin (melons, creamed corn, etc, with your
highest fat meals),

From: David Rind <drind@caregroup.harvard.edu>
Newsgroups: sci.med,alt.comp.blind-users,sci.med.pharmacy
Subject: Re: Macula Degeneration and Vitamin E
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 13:33:36 -0400

Steven B. Harris wrote:
>    My thinking exactly.  Recently they've found that neosporin (given
> IV) is a terrific antiangiogenesis agent.  Perhaps really good
> treatments for the wet form of mac degen are around the corner
> at last.
> Meanwhile, if you have it, stay way from aspirin, take your vitamin K,
> keep the vit E supplements down to RDA or so, take bioflavonoids, and
> get your lutein and zeaxanthin (melons, creamed corn, etc, with your
> highest fat meals),

I'm still not clear on this.  All the cites that people have
provided seem to show a small (and frequently not statistically
significant) decrease in the incidence of macular degeneration in
people who ingest more vitamin E.  I can understand not being
convinced that it's beneficial, but where is the evidence that
has you warning people with macular degeneration against takeing
vitamin E supplements?  (I am not asking this rhetorically; Dr. Harris
usually has solid reasons for his recommendations, and I'm just
confused as to what they are here.  I would think that evidence
of benefit from cohort studies would be "stronger" than a theoretical
risk based on biologic reasoning.  Both are obviously weak compared
with a placebo controlled trial, which it sounds like David Wright
thinks may exist, but which I was unable to find.)

--
David Rind
drind@caregroup.harvard.edu

From: wright@nospam.clam (David Wright)
Newsgroups: sci.med,alt.comp.blind-users,sci.med.pharmacy
Subject: Re: Macula Degeneration and Vitamin E
Date: 22 Jun 1999 17:50:03 GMT

In article <376FC8F0.5D6F@caregroup.harvard.edu>,
David Rind  <drind@caregroup.harvard.edu> wrote:

>I would think that evidence
>of benefit from cohort studies would be "stronger" than a theoretical
>risk based on biologic reasoning.  Both are obviously weak compared
>with a placebo controlled trial, which it sounds like David Wright
>thinks may exist, but which I was unable to find.)

No, David Wright went out to lunch and was saying "macular
degeneration" when he meant "retinitis pigmentosa."  The study in
question here is from 1993 (Berson et al).  They found that A was good
and E might not be.

  -- David Wright :: wright at ibnets.com :: Not a Spokesman for Anyone
     These are my opinions only, but they're almost always correct.
     "Let me through!  I got here late!"  -- Homer Simpson