Vitamin E May Protect Against Age-Related Cataract
—Good News about the Leading Cause of Blindness in the U.S—

NEW YORK, January 27, 2005 — There is "substantial evidence" that vitamin E may have a beneficial effect on the development of age-related cataracts in people who take the vitamin, says a leading expert on nutrition and aging, Dr. Paul F. Jacques.

Dr. Jacques spoke at a health and science writers’ workshop on vitamin E and health at the New York Academy of Sciences sponsored by the Council for Responsible Nutrition. He is Director of the Nutritional Epidemiology Program and Senior Scientist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, where he is also Professor at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.

"Almost half of all Americans experience visual disability from cataracts," the
epidemiologist told the group. He explained that a cataract is a clouding of the lens, or opacification, characterized by an accumulation of damaged lens proteins. The protein accumulation disrupts the normally uniform density within the fiber cells of the lens, causing light refraction. This then interferes with the transmission of light to the retina.

Dr. Jacques said, "We have evidence that a cataract is the result of oxidation of constituents of the lens fiber cells." That process of oxidation might explain why vitamin E, an antioxidant, would have a beneficial effect on cataract.

"The results of my past and ongoing studies, as well as studies by other investigators, show that individuals who consume vitamin E supplements or who have higher plasma concentrations of vitamin E have a lower risk of cataract, particularly cataract in the lens nucleus," the researcher told the group today.

There are a number of risk factors for age-related cataracts: age, gender, diabetes, sunlight and ultraviolet radiation, and smoking. Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide, with 15-25 million cases of blindness resulting from cataracts that have not been operated on (the procedure is called surgical extraction). In the U.S. and other developed countries, this type of cataract is responsible for 40-60% of adult visual disability.

Dr. Jacques cautioned, "Forty-five percent of Americans develop cataracts with visual impairment by age 85, creating a large economic burden." He said that cataract extraction is the most frequently performed surgery among elderly Americans, totaling 3.5 billion dollars annually, the single largest Medicare expenditure.

Dr. Jacques called for more studies to look at nutrition and cataracts now, adding that "there’s substantial evidence that vitamin E may have a beneficial effect on age-related cataract."

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Note to Editor: The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973, is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing dietary supplement industry ingredient suppliers and manufacturers. CRN members adhere to a strong code of ethics, comply with dosage limits and manufacture dietary supplements to high quality standards under good manufacturing practices. For more information on CRN, visit http://www.crnusa.org.