Supplements slow disease progression during late stage of 'dry' age-related macular degeneration

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found that daily antioxidant vitamin and mineral supplements can slow the progression of late-stage dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), helping preserve central vision. Analyzing retinal scans from the Age-Related Eye Diseases Studies (AREDS and AREDS2), they discovered that these supplements reduced the expansion of geographic atrophy toward the central fovea in late-stage dry AMD patients. This study, published in *Ophthalmology*, showed a 55% slowdown in the rate of atrophy expansion over an average of three years for most participants.

While the original AREDS trials demonstrated that antioxidant supplements could slow AMD progression, they did not show benefits for those with late-stage disease. The new analysis highlights that antioxidant supplements may still be effective in slowing vision loss by targeting atrophy outside the foveal region. Further clinical trials are planned to confirm these findings and evaluate their therapeutic potential for late-stage dry AMD.