ABSTRACT
AIM:To study the effect of lutein intervention on visual function of patients with early age-related macular degeneration (AMD).METHODS:Totally 200 early AMD patients were divided into lutein intervention group (20mg/d) and placebo group by a randomized,double-blind,placebo-controlled trail.Questionnaire investigation,serum lutein concentration and visual function were conducted at baseline,12,24,36 and 48wk respectively.RESULTS:The serum lutein concentration in lutein intervention group was higher than the baseline (P＜0.05) and those of placebo group at 12,24,36 and 48wk after intervention (P＜ 0.05).The spatial frequencies of contrast sensitivity (CS) at low (3 cycles/degree) and medium (6 cycles/degree) in lutein intervention group,macular pigment optical density (MPOD) and best-spectacle corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were higher than those of placebo group (P＜ 0.05).Contrasted to baseline,the low and medium spatial frequencies of CS in lutein intervention group were higher (P＜ 0.05),while,there were no statistical significance in MPOD and BCVA between before and after treatment (P＞0.05).CONCLUSION:Lutein intervention can improve the visual function of patients with early AMD.