The impact of macular pigment augmentation on visual performance in normal subjects: COMPASS

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate whether augmentation of macular pigment (MP) enhances visual performance (VP). 121 normal subjects were recruited. The active (A) group consumed 12 mg of lutein (L) and 1mg of zeaxanthin (Z) daily. MP optical density (MPOD) was assessed by customized heterochromatic flicker photometry. VP was assessed as best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), mesopic and photopic contrast sensitivity (CS), glare disability, photostress, and subjective visual function. Subjects were assessed at baseline; 3; 6; 12 months (V1, V2, V3 and V4, respectively). Central MPOD increased significantly in the A group (p < 0.05) but not in the placebo group (p > 0.05). This statistically significant increase in MPOD in the A group was not, in general, associated with a corresponding improvement in VP (p>0.05, for all variables), with the exception of a statistically significant time/treatment effect in "daily tasks comparative analysis" (p = 0.03). At V4, we report statistically significant differences in mesopic CS at 20.7 cpd, mesopic CS at 1.5 cpd under high glare conditions, and light/dark adaptation comparative analysis between the lower and the upper MP tertile groups (p < 0.05) Further study into the relationship between MP and VP is warranted, with particular attention directed towards individuals with low MP and suboptimal VP.

Macular carotenoid supplementation in subjects with atypical spatial profiles of macular pigment

“…Indeed, other L-supplementation studies have also failed to significantly augment MP over this time period (Nolan et al, 2011;Trieschmann et al, 2007). However, the subjects tested here were atypical by virtue of the fact that they exhibited central dips or plateaus in their MP spatial profiles, and we sought to specifically investigate whether such subjects would respond differently to different carotenoid interventions.…”

“…Also, the increase in central MPOD, seen in Groups 2 and 3, is likely to confer optical benefits at this location (i.e. enhanced contrast sensitivity and ameliorated glare disability) (Nolan et al, 2011).…”

“…MP is a blue light filter (Snodderly et al, 1984b) and a powerful antioxidant, (Khachik et al, 1997) and is therefore believed to protect against age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is now the most common cause of blind registration in the western world (Klaver et al, 1998). In addition, MP's putative ability to enhance visual performance and comfort is also of interest (Bartlett and Eperjesi, 2008;Engles et al, 2007;Hammond and Wooten, 2005;Kvansakul et al, 2006;Loughman et al, 2010;Nolan et al, 2011;Rodriguez-Carmona et al, 2006;Hammond, 2007, 2008;Stringham et al, 2004;Wooten and Hammond, 2002).…”

Low macular pigment optical density is associated with lower cognitive performance in a large, population-based sample of older adults

“…BMI was calculated for each participant from height and weight measurements that were carried out during the health assessment. Corrected VA was measured in both eyes using an Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) logMAR chart at a test distance of 4 m using the subjects existing refractive correction (Nolan et al, 2011). Depressive symptoms were assessed during the CAPI using the 20--item Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES--D) scale (Radloff, 1977).…”

What is meso-zeaxanthin, and where does it come from?

“…2 The anatomical (central retinal), 2 biochemical (antioxidant), 3 and optical (short-wavelength filtering) 4 properties of MP have generated interest in the role of MP for vision and macular health. In the first instance, there is an evidencebased consensus that MP is important for vision in normal subjects, [5][6][7] which rests on MP's ability to optimise visual performance and experience by attenuating chromatic aberration, veiling luminance, and blue haze. 8 In the second instance, MP has generated interest because of its possible protective role for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the world's leading cause of age-related blindness.…”