薬理と治療

Abstract

Objectives To study the potential of lutein︱containing supplement to improve visual acuity （VA）and╱or vision︱related quality of life（VRQOL）in a randomized, double︱blind, placebo︱ controlled trial with the healthy elderly aged 50 to 70 years who complained of subjective vision symptoms. Methods Seventeen each subjects were allocated to placebo（placebo group）and lutein︱containing supplement（lutein group）. Lutein︱containing supplement was taken orally for 6 weeks in a daily dose of 1320 mg（30 mg as lutein）. Before the start and after the end of 6︱week intervention, all subjects underwent determinations of best︱spectacle corrected VA（BCVA）and examinations of VRQOL based on vision symptom VAS scores for efficacy evaluation. Results Intervention with lutein︱containing supplement significantly increased BCVA of both eyes（in within︱ group comparison）, whereas placebo showed a similar effect on only the right︱ side eye without any effect on the left︱side eye. For VRQOL, significant improvement was observed in lutein group but was not in placebo group（in within︱group comparison）. Conclusions Lutein︱containing supplement is considered to have beneficial effects on the elderly with complaint of depressed VRQOL.