Nutritional Manipulation of Primate Retinas, V: Effects of Lutein, Zeaxanthin, and n –3 Fatty Acids on Retinal Sensitivity to Blue-Light–Induced Damage

• Published in: Investigative ophthalmology & visual science Vol. 52; no. 7; pp. 3934 - 3942
• Main Authors: Barker, Felix M., Snodderly, D. Max, Johnson, Elizabeth J., Schalch, Wolfgang, Koepcke, Wolfgang, Gerss, Joachim, Neuringer, Martha
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc 01.06.2011
• Subjects: Animal Feed; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena - physiology; Animals; Dietary Supplements; Disease Models, Animal; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - administration & dosage; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - metabolism; Fovea Centralis - metabolism; Fovea Centralis - pathology; Fovea Centralis - radiation effects; Light - adverse effects; Lutein - administration & dosage; Lutein - deficiency; Macaca mulatta; Macular Degeneration - diet therapy; Macular Degeneration - metabolism; Macular Degeneration - pathology; Oxidative Stress - physiology; Oxidative Stress - radiation effects; Radiation-Protective Agents - administration & dosage; Radiation-Protective Agents - metabolism; Xanthophylls - administration & dosage; Xanthophylls - deficiency; Zeaxanthins
• ISSN: 1552-5783; 0146-0404; 1552-5783
• DOI: 10.1167/iovs.10-5898

Blue-light photooxidative damage has been implicated in the etiology of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The macular pigment xanthophylls lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z) and n-3 fatty acids may reduce this damage and lower the risk of AMD. This study investigated the effects of the lifelong absence of xanthophylls followed by L or Z supplementation, combined with the effects of n-3 fatty acid deficiency, on acute blue-light photochemical damage. Subjects included eight rhesus monkeys with no lifelong intake of xanthophylls and no detectable macular pigment. Of these, four had low n-3 fatty acid intake and four had adequate intakes. Control subjects had typical L, Z, and n-3 fatty acid intake. Retinas received 150-μm-diameter exposures of low-power 476-nm laser light at 0.5 mm (∼2°) eccentricity, which is adjacent to the macular pigment peak, and parafoveally at 1.5 mm (∼6°). Exposures of xanthophyll-free animals were repeated after supplementation with pure L or Z for 22 to 28 weeks. Ophthalmoscopically visible lesion areas were plotted as a function of exposure energy, with greater slopes of the regression lines indicating greater sensitivity to damage. In control animals, the fovea was less sensitive to blue-light-induced damage than the parafovea. Foveal protection was absent in xanthophyll-free animals but was evident after supplementation. In the parafovea, animals low in n-3 fatty acids showed greater sensitivity to damage than animals with adequate levels. After long-term xanthophyll deficiency, L or Z supplementation protected the fovea from blue light-induced damage, whereas adequate n-3 fatty acid levels reduced the damage in the parafovea.