AREDS supplements are used to treat macular degeneration

DEAR DR. ROACH: You should be aware that the AREDS2 vitamin supplement has not been shown to have any benefit in low-risk age-related macular degeneration patients, and has been associated with lowering the risk of advance in only 25 percent of moderate- to high-risk AMD patients. As such, it should not be considered a treatment or preventative. The label on the bottle bears this statement: “This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.”

There also are some possible side effects. I have low-risk AMD and am currently taking this supplement with hopes that it might possibly help slow the progression as my AMD advances, since there is nothing else that can be done for it. -- Anon.

ANSWER: “AMD” is “age-related macular degeneration,” a disease that causes a loss of central vision necessary for detailed tasks like writing or sewing. It comes when a part of the retina called the “macula,” with the highest concentration of rods and cones for fine visual detail, breaks down.

For dry AMD, the AREDS vitamins lowered the risk of progression to advanced AMD and risk of vision loss. Among all people in the study, about 31 percent who took placebo progressed to advanced AMD, while 16 percent of those who took the vitamins progressed.

Those with low risk were unlikely to progress at all: Only 1.5 percent did, which makes it very difficult to prove that the vitamins are of use. It would take a very large study done for a very long time to do so.

I agree with you that there is a potential downside of vitamin treatment, but it is small, and even people with low-risk AMD might reduce their already-low risk of progression by taking the vitamins.

The label on the bottle is a legal phrase designed to reduce liability. However, I certainly prescribe these medications (AREDS or AREDS2 vitamins) for the very purpose of slowing progression of AMD, which to me sounds a lot like “treating or preventing disease.”