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Tracy Hampton, PhD

JAMA. 2006;296:2429.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

The National Institutes of Health is launching a new study to see if a combination of vitamins, minerals, and fish oil can slow the progression of vision loss from age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in the United States for individuals older than 60 years. This trial, called the Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2), will build upon results from the earlier Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) that 5 years ago found that high-dose antioxidant vitamins and minerals (vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, zinc, and copper) reduced the risk of progression to advanced age-related macular degeneration by 25% and the risk of moderate vision loss by 19% (http://www.nei.nih.gov/amd/).

AREDS2 will now add lutein and zeaxanthin (plant-derived yellow pigments that accumulate in the macula of the eye) and docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic omega-3 fatty acids to the analysis. Previous observational studies have suggested these . . . [Full Text of this Article]