This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Pharmaceutical strength antioxidant agents considered to treat AMD
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
MIAMI — A new generation of antioxidants under pharmaceutical development is intended for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration in manufactured doses greater than what can be obtained over the counter, a speaker said here.
In models in which “megadoses” of vitamin E were used, drusen formation was hindered, but the doses would have been toxic in humans, Scott W. Cousins, MD, said at the Angiogenesis, Exudation, and Degeneration 2014 meeting.
“It’s not that the antioxidant mechanism of action is wrong; it’s that the nutraceutical is not performing the way a pharmaceutical would be,” Cousins said.
Scott W. Cousins
Because of its easy access as an over-the-counter supplement with established clinical efficacy, idebenone, an analog of ubiquinone, was chosen as an example for Cousins and colleagues to study in a small observational series. The drug was effective and well tolerated in the treatment of dry AMD but lacked a “wow” effect, Cousins said.
“I am encouraging you to remain open-minded about their therapeutic potential and not reject this next generation of antioxidants as being equivalent to AREDS,” Cousins said.
Disclosure: Cousins has no relevant financial disclosures.