Posted 26 January 2009 - 07:39 PM
Posted 27 January 2009 - 01:23 AM
I found out today that my brother-in-law was diagnosed with glaucoma, and thought I'd ask if there are any supplements that could benefit him. He probably won't take anything I suggest (he's sort of anti-medicine/supplements/pills), but figured it's worth a try.
From a quick google search, it appears vitamin C is helpful. Perhaps some magnesium too?
Anything else good? Could Lutein/Zeaxanthin maybe help him a little?
Posted 28 January 2009 - 07:25 PM
This looks pretty good. Here's some information for anyone out there with high IOP. Thanks for bringing this to our attention, NDM and nameless.Thanks for the responses. Bilberry/Pynogenol looks promising -- the Mirtogenol study showed a benefit. I'll mention it to him.
Mol Vis. 2008 Jul 10;14:1288-92. FREE FULL TEXT
Effects of Mirtogenol on ocular blood flow and intraocular hypertension in asymptomatic subjects.
Steigerwalt RD, Gianni B, Paolo M, Bombardelli E, Burki C, Schönlau F.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Chieti-Pescara, San Valentino, Italy.
PURPOSE: The most important variable risk factor for developing glaucoma is intraocular hypertension. Timely lowering of high intraocular pressure (IOP) significantly lowers the likelihood of developing glaucoma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the food supplement Mirtogenol (Mirtoselect and Pycnogenol on IOP and ocular blood flow in a product evaluation study. METHODS: Thirty-eight asymptomatic subjects with intraocular hypertension were either given Mirtogenol (20 subjects) or were not treated (18 subjects). The visual acuity, IOP, and ocular blood flow were measured at two, three, and six months. RESULTS: After two months of supplementation with Mirtogenol, the mean IOP decreased from a baseline of 25.2 mmHg to 22.2 mmHg. After three months of treatment with Mirtogenol, the IOP was significantly lowered compared to that of untreated controls (p<0.05) to 22.0 mmHg. No further improvement was found after six months. Nineteen of the twenty patients taking Mirtogenol had a decreased IOP after three months. Only marginal effects on the IOP were found in the 18 control subjects. No side effects were observed. Ocular blood flow (central retinal, ophthalmic, and posterior ciliary arteries) improved both in the systolic and diastolic components as measured by Color Doppler imaging. After three months of treatment, the improvement of ocular blood flow was significant as compared to both baseline and control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: An improved ocular blood flow may contribute to the prevention of glaucoma. The results of this study indicate that Mirtogenol may represent a safe preventative intervention for lowering the risk for developing symptomatic glaucoma by controlling IOP and improving ocular blood flow.
PMID: 18618008
The patients in the treatment group were given Mirtogenol®, one in the morning (AM) and one in the evening (PM), for six months. The Mirtogenol® tablets contained 40 mg of French maritime pine bark extract, Pycnogenol® (Horphag Research, London, UK), and 80 mg of Mirtoselect® standardized bilberry extract (Indena, Milan, Italy). In total, the daily dosage was 80 mg of Pycnogenol® and 160 mg of Mirtoselect®. The control group remained untreated. The IOP was measured with the standard Goldmann applanation tonometer at the same time in the morning. Measurements were all performed by the same person to rule out any variations from one investigator to another. At each visit, the IOP was measured in triplicate and mean values were recorded. Visual acuity was obtained using the Snellen chart. Color Doppler imaging (CDI) was used to measure the peak systolic flow velocity (PSFV) and the end diastolic flow velocity (EDFV) of the ophthalmic artery (OA), central retinal artery (CRA), and the posterior ciliary artery (PCA) as previously described [13].
Posted 28 January 2009 - 08:16 PM
I found out today that my brother-in-law was diagnosed with glaucoma, and thought I'd ask if there are any supplements that could benefit him. He probably won't take anything I suggest (he's sort of anti-medicine/supplements/pills), but figured it's worth a try.
From a quick google search, it appears vitamin C is helpful. Perhaps some magnesium too?
Anything else good? Could Lutein/Zeaxanthin maybe help him a little?
1:
Endocannabinoids in the retina: from marijuana to neuroprotection.
Yazulla S.
Prog Retin Eye Res. 2008 Sep;27(5):501-26. Epub 2008 Aug 3. Review.
PMID: 18725316 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
2:
Cannabinoids in health and disease.
Kogan NM, Mechoulam R.
Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2007;9(4):413-30. Review.
PMID: 18286801 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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3:
Medical marijuana and the developing role of the pharmacist.
Seamon MJ, Fass JA, Maniscalco-Feichtl M, Abu-Shraie NA.
Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2007 May 15;64(10):1037-44. Review.
PMID: 17494903 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
4:
Effect of sublingual application of cannabinoids on intraocular pressure: a pilot study.
Tomida I, Azuara-Blanco A, House H, Flint M, Pertwee RG, Robson PJ.
J Glaucoma. 2006 Oct;15(5):349-53.
PMID: 16988594 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
5:
Implication of cannabinoids in neurological diseases.
Alsasua del Valle A.
Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2006 Jul-Aug;26(4-6):579-91. Epub 2006 May 12. Review.
PMID: 16699878 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
6:
Human studies of cannabinoids and medicinal cannabis.
Robson P.
Handb Exp Pharmacol. 2005;(168):719-56. Review.
PMID: 16596794 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Cannabinoids in medicine: A review of their therapeutic potential.
Ben Amar M.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2006 Apr 21;105(1-2):1-25. Epub 2006 Mar 15. Review.
PMID: 16540272 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
8:
[The mechanism of action of cannabis and cannabinoids]
Scholten WK.
Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2006 Jan 21;150(3):128-31. Review. Dutch.
PMID: 16463612 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
9:
Bilateral angle-closure glaucoma after combined consumption of "ecstasy" and marijuana.
Trittibach P, Frueh BE, Goldblum D.
Am J Emerg Med. 2005 Oct;23(6):813-4. No abstract available.
PMID: 16182995 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
10:
Recent developments in the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids.
Corey S.
P R Health Sci J. 2005 Mar;24(1):19-26. Review.
PMID: 15895873 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Effects of marijuana on aqueous humor dynamics in a glaucoma patient.
Zhan GL, Camras CB, Palmberg PF, Toris CB.
J Glaucoma. 2005 Apr;14(2):175-7. No abstract available.
PMID: 15741823 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Justices mull medical marijuana laws.
[No authors listed]
AIDS Policy Law. 2003 Oct 24;18(20):1. No abstract available.
PMID: 14626967 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Troubled times for Canada's medical marijuana program.
Thaczuk D.
Can HIV AIDS Policy Law Rev. 2003 Apr;8(1):22-3.
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Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in the treatment of end-stage open-angle glaucoma.
Flach AJ.
Trans Am Ophthalmol Soc. 2002;100:215-22; discussion 222-4.
PMID: 12545695 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Free article in PMC | at journal site
15:
State medical marijuana laws: understanding the laws and their limitations.
Pacula RL, Chriqui JF, Reichmann DA, Terry-McElrath YM.
J Public Health Policy. 2002;23(4):413-39.
PMID: 12532682 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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[Cannabis therapy]
Paris M.
Ann Pharm Fr. 2002 Jul;60(4):271-3. French. No abstract available.
PMID: 12378155 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Medicinal use of cannabis: history and current status.
Kalant H.
Pain Res Manag. 2001 Summer;6(2):80-91.
PMID: 11854770 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
18:
[Cannabis and its effects on health]
Heinälä P.
Duodecim. 1998;114(20):2115-20. Review. Finnish. No abstract available.
PMID: 11717738 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
19:
Legislature agrees to fund study of marijuana efficacy.
[No authors listed]
AIDS Policy Law. 1999 Oct 1;14(18):11.
PMID: 11367022 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
20:
Medical marijuana: legal considerations.
Schouten JT.
STEP Perspect. 1999 Summer;99(2):5.
PMID: 11366751 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Posted 18 February 2009 - 06:33 PM
Posted 19 February 2009 - 02:31 AM
Depletion of taurine and glutamate from damaged photoreceptors in the retinas of dogs with primary glaucoma.
Madl JE, McIlnay TR, Powell CC, Gionfriddo JR. Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1601, USA.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether taurine and glutamate contents are reduced in damaged photoreceptors in dogs with primary glaucoma (PG) in a manner consistent with an ischemia-like release of both of these amino acids from damaged cells. SAMPLE POPULATION: Retinas from 6 dogs with PG and 3 control dogs. PROCEDURE: Serial, semithin sections of each canine retina were stained with toluidine blue to identify damaged photoreceptors or via immunogold techniques to quantify taurine and glutamate content in retinal cells. RESULTS: Regions with a thin outer nuclear layer and pathologic nuclear changes in photoreceptors were evident in retinas of dogs with PG. The density of immunostaining for taurine in damaged photoreceptors was significantly reduced to (mean +/- SEM) 37.5 +/- 2.6% of the density in adjacent undamaged photoreceptors. Photoreceptors with decreased taurine immunostaining also had decreased glutamate immunostaining, consistent with ischemia-like release of both of these amino acids from damaged cells. Immunostaining for glutamate, but not taurine, was increased in presumptive radial glial cells (i.e., Miller cells) in damaged regions, consistent with an ischemia-induced redistribution of amino acids in dogs with PG. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Retinal damage in dogs with PG includes ischemia-like losses of taurine and glutamate from photoreceptors and accumulation of glutamate, but not taurine, in nearby Müller cells. These changes are consistent with glutamate release and depletion of intracellular taurine in damaged regions, perhaps contributing to progressive damage in these areas.
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