The Story of Harry Marsland
Mr Harry Marsland was diagnosed with AMD. Here is his story.
Mr Harry Marsland having the fundus (the back of his eye) photographed
Trials underway at Waterford to probe link between dietary supplement and preserving vision
A retired optometrist who had stopped driving and had to use a magnifying glass for routine tasks when he lost his sight has travelled from the UK to Waterford Institute of Technology to thank the eye care experts who helped restore his vision.
73-year-old Harry Marsland suffered from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease of the macula (central part of the retina, responsible for central vision). He lost vision in his right eye almost eight years ago and the disease had spread to his second eye when he heard that there was research being conducted at Waterford into the role of nutrition and AMD.
When Mr. Marsland contacted the research team in Waterford, it was recommended that he re-build his macular pigment (a yellow nutritional pigment at the back of the eye). “I heard of the work that Mr. Stephen Beatty (Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon) and Dr John Nolan, director and deputy director of the Macular Pigment Research Group (MPRG), were doing. I contacted them and, under their advice, began taking a dietary supplement in April 2007.
“By September, when the nights were drawing in, I realised I didn’t need to use bright lights or my magnifying glass any more. By Christmas, the magnifying glass was dusty from underuse and I’ve now recovered 95 per cent of the vision I’d lost.
“I still have no central vision in my right eye but can see outlines of things. If the disease had been allowed to progress in my left eye, I would have been registered blind by now. The dietary supplement worked and it’s bloody marvelous,” said Mr. Marsland from Oundle near Peterborough, England.
Mr. Marsland retired 18 years ago and testing for AMD was never part of his training. “It was regarded as a disease some older people got and nothing could be done about it. But now more people are getting older and living longer. We have to do something to arrest it. Cataracts are now an outpatient procedure and we’ve made major advances with glaucoma. Now AMD has overtaken these but not enough is being done.
“People have to ensure they are tested for it – particularly those with a family history, those who are smokers or over-weight. My three sons are in their 40s and they have all been tested. One of them is at risk and he is now taking the supplement. I recovered from AMD so there is hope. We don’t have 10-15 years to wait and we need people to ask for this test,” Mr. Marsland urged.
His success story, and other advances at MPRG, have now spurred Eithne Connolly and Dr John Nolan of the Macular Pigment Research Group in the Department of Chemical & Life Sciences at Waterford Institute of Technology to begin trials which it is hoped will help prevent thousands more suffering a similar fate.
Dr Nolan said they need real evidence of the impact of the supplement. “Real evidence will come from properly conducted scientific trials. We have recruited a group of volunteers aged 20 to 60 who do not have AMD for our first trial. We are now looking for further volunteers for our second trial – people who have the early stages of AMD, and are not currently supplementing, we plan to give them the supplement and see if we can delay or stop their progression.
“This is a very good news story for those affected with AMD or at risk of developing it. We identified that Mr Marsland was low on a nutritional pigment at the back of his eye (known as macular pigment) and we helped him re-build it by taking some over-the-counter nutritional supplements (Macushield). He responded positively to the supplement as his macular pigment level increased by over 300% and the AMD in this part of his eye resolved.
“All eye-care professionals need to start to measure macular pigment and/or perform some kind of AMD risk assessment. In Scotland, they have AMD risk assessment clinics for people who have a family history of AMD or who are at increased risk of developing this condition. Until we do something similar, we will continue to fight a losing battle and we will be trying to fix problems rather than prevent them,” Dr Nolan said.
MPRG is teaming up with Whitfield Clinic’s Institute of Vision Research in Waterford to offer free screening for AMD. That screening weekend is due to take place on XXXXXXX. It is estimated that as many as 30,000 Irish people have AMD but do not realise that they are sufferers.
The increasing prevalence of AMD worldwide is largely attributable to increasing life expectancy and lifestyle changes associated with western society. It is predicted that the current AMD prevalence figures will double by 2020, Dr Nolan said.
“It is absolutely critical now that eye care professionals routinely test for AMD, and assess risk for this disease. When someone, particularly someone over 40, is having an eye test, they should insist that their macular pigment level is also checked and/or AMD risk assessment is performed.” Dr Nolan said.
People with AMD lose their central vision - their ability to read, recognise faces, watch television and drive and, therefore, lose their independence and quality of life. In addition, the cost of vision loss and visual impairment to society and to health care providers continues to rise, with significant economic implications.
About Macular Pigment
Macular pigment (MP) is a yellow pigment found at the macula. MP is composed of the dietary carotenoids lutein, zeaxanthin, and meso-zeaxanthin. MP absorbs short-wavelength (blue) light pre-receptorally and scavenges and neutralizes free radicals. It is unsurprising, therefore, that this pigment is believed to protect against AMD, because both blue light damage and free radicals are known to contribute to this condition. There is now an increasing body of scientific evidence which supports such a notion.
For example, recent research by the Macular Pigment Research Group (MPRG) has shown that individuals between the ages of 20 and 60 years (without ocular disease), who are at increased risk of developing AMD (e.g. cigarette smokers, people with a family history of AMD, people with poor diets lacking in antioxidants, people who are overweight etc.) have a relative lack of MP.
Meso-zeaxanthin is only found at the macula, whereas lutein and zeaxanthin are also found in serum and several other tissues throughout the body. Meso-zeaxanthin is not found in a regular diet; however, it is generated at the macula following biochemical conversion from lutein, and it is also found in some foods such as sea food (e.g. shrimp and crab) and fish (e.g. trout and salmon).
Macushield™ is the only dietary supplement available that contains all three of the macular carotenoids, including meso-zeaxanthin. The importance of meso-zeaxanthin and its presence in MP can be summarized as follows: meso-zeaxanthin is the central portion of MP; meso-zeaxanthin is a more powerful antioxidant than either lutein or zeaxanthin; meso-zeaxanthin facilitates a wider range of short-wavelength light absorption; meso-zeaxanthin is more closely related to vulnerable photoreceptors at an anatomic level than either lutein or zeaxanthin.
The MPRG trials
The MPRG is about to embark on two clinical trials with meso-zeaxanthin in the form of Macushield™. The first clinical trial is designed to investigate macular and serum responses to supplemental meso-zeaxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin (Macushield™).
The second clinical trial is designed to investigate retinal sensitivity changes and AMD related pathology changes at the macula, if any, in response to MP augmentation.
These meso-zeaxanthin trials are essential to test the putative protective benefits that this carotenoid may offer AMD patients, and individuals at risk of this condition. Also, recent case studies have shown that supplementation with Macushield™ results in significant MP augmentation in the central portion of the MP and resolution of centrally located drusen, and improvement in visual acuity, in two patients with AMD.
While these individual case studies are positive, properly conducted clinical trials, such as those outlined above, are essential to further our understanding of the importance of MP, and in particular the role of meso-zeaxanthin, for ocular health and AMD prevention.
- Further details on the work of the Macular Pigment Research Group is available on www.wit.ie/mprg.ie. Anyone interested in getting involved in the trial or finding out about the AMD risk assessment clinic should contact Mrs Lorna Rushe at the MPRG at (051) 845 505.
Media contact: Neans McSweeney, Bance Nolan Ltd; (051) 845 403/ (086) 2620 355. Photography is available from Dylan Vaughan (087) 256 9929