Vitamin E may provide protection against macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness among older people, a team of French researchers has reported.*

Macular degeneration is an eye disorder in the area of the eye where vision is the sharpest, and is a major cause of vision impairment among older individuals. Cause of the disease is poorly understood, and laser treatment has given limited benefit only to a small percentage of patients.

But, results of tests by researchers in France indicate that Vitamin E, acting as an antioxidant nutrient, may work against what scientists call AMD, or age-related macular degeneration.

"These results suggest that Vitamin E may provide protection against AMD, " the French group wrote in the current issue of the journal Archives of Ophthalmology.

The researchers studied information from more than 2,500 adults who were 60 years or older. It was determined that 38 test patients had late AMD, and that the eye disorder was significantly higher in patients who were older than 80.

In patients who showed high body levels of Vitamin E, however, the scientists found that prevalence of late AMD "was decreased by 82 percent ..."

Vitamin E is truly nature's master antioxidant, and for many years GNLD has touted the numerous health benefits of whole-food, natural-source vitamin E supplementation. We have no doubt that future research will uncover other significant health benefits of this incredibly versatile nutrient.

GNLD's vitamin E products are sourced only from natural vitamin E. Natural vitamin E has been shown in studies to be up to two times more bioavailable than a synthetic counterpart. You will never find substandard vitamin E in a GNLD product.

* Cécile Delcourt, PhD; Jean-Paul Cristol, MD; Frédéric Tessier, PhD; Claude L. Láger, PhD; Bernard Descomps, MD; Laure Papoz, PhD; and the POLA Study Group. Age-related Macular Degeneration and Antioxidant Status in the POLA Study. Archives of Ophthalmology. vol. 117 No. 10, Oct 1999.