Research Highlights
VA Study on Cholesterol Drug May Protect Vision
Taken from the Veterans Health Administration Highlights dated September 1, 2003
According to a University of Alabama at Birmingham and VA study to be published in the September issue of the British Journal of Ophthalmology, elderly men who take cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins are less likely to develop age-related macular degeneration. Age-related degeneration occurs when light sensitive cells at the back of the eye, or macula, break down.
Supported by the National Institutes of Health, Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc. and the Eyesight Foundation of Alabama, the study evaluated 6,000 elderly men, including 550 who had recently been diagnosed with macular degeneration. Researchers found a significantly lower occurrence of macular degeneration in men who were taking statins. For every three cases of the disease found in men taking statins, researchers found 10 cases in men not taking statins.
It was determined that more study is needed into the connection between cholesterol levels and macular degeneration, and more research needs to be focused on the effectiveness of statins in preventing macular degeneration.
Taken from the Veterans Health Administration Highlights dated July 21, 2003