Alternative treatment for cataracts

[jd3450]

Are N-acetylcarnosine eyedrops safe to use to see if they do help reverse cataracts?

[allmymarbles]

Medical doctors (and the FDA) tend to dismiss anything out of hand that does not originate with the traditional medical community or the drug companies. I think of it as a closed shop. Outsiders need not apply. But this tactic becomes less effective as time goes by. Eventually the medical community will have to climb on board or lose credibility, and there are signs that this is already happening.

[jd3450]

Thanks.  But since the information available states it needs the viterous to work and I have none I won't be trying this.  No one can tell me it's safe to do and medical doctors only deal with science and will not help, which is a shame for the patients.

[allmymarbles]

By the way, there is not enough information to know if this treatment works for everyone, but obviously it works for me. Compliance would be an important factor, and I am extremely compliant.

[allmymarbles]

The drops are meant to improve visual acuity. Improvement would be based on where you were to begin with. I don't think anyone has any idea how long improvement would continue, because there have been no long-term studies. The longest I know of is one year (from a patent application). Maybe there is a point at which it will stop. But I hope not.

[jd3450]

Thanks.  Your eyesight without glass is much better than mine.   They cannot correct my vision in my right eye due to the cataract and the left eye was affected after a vitrecomy, which they say caused a cataract.

[allmymarbles]

I was originally sent to a retinal specialist by an optometrist because he said I was developing macular degeneration in my left eye and he was concerned. My cataracts are probably mostly age-related, although inhaled steroids may have been a factor.

Yes, the tests are without glasses.

Generally speaking, eye doctors are more amenable to supplements than other physicians. Certainly this would be true of the optometrist I first went to and my retina specialist. I have no idea how a traditional MD would react to the improvement in my eyes through the use of alternative therapies. The usual cry is "spontaneous remission." But I have never heard of the "spontaneous remission" of cataracts or arcus senilis. Medical wisdom says they are both incurable.

[jd3450]

Why do you see a retina specialist?  Did you have cataracts caused by detached retina surgery?  

Also, I assume your numbers are without glasses?  My cataract is so bad they cannot correct with a lens.

As I stated in another response, I wish eye MD's would be open to try things like this to see what happens.  

[allmymarbles]

I have been using n-acetyl-carnosine drops, along with MSM drops. In precisely one year my left eye improved from 20/100 to 20/50, and my right eye from 20/70 to 20/40. (Tests taken November 2009 and November 2010.) During that period I did not make any changes in supplements and purposely did not take supplements specific to eye health, so as not to skew possible results.

My retina specialist is very interested in my progress and wants to see me in May 2011 to track any further improvement. He knew the Europeans were using the carnosine drops but did not know they were available here. Whereas I was told last year that I needed cataract surgery, after the November 2010 tests, I was told I did not.

Perhaps of lesser importance, the arcus senilis that I first noticed 20 years ago, has darkened and narrowed. The improvement is very slow.

[allmymarbles]

I have been using n-acetyl-carnosine drops, along with MSM drops. In precisely one year my left eye improved from 20/100 to 20/50, and my right eye from 20/70 to 20/40. (Tests taken November 2009 and November 2010.) During that period I did not make any changes in supplements and purposely did not take supplements specific to eye health, so as not to skew possible results.

My retina specialist is very interested in my progress and wants to see me in May 2011 to track any further improvement. He knew the Europeans were using the carnosine drops but did not know they were available here. Whereas I was told last year that I needed cataract surgery, after the November 2010 tests, I was told I did not.

Perhaps of lesser importance, the arcus senilis that I first noticed 20 years ago, has darkened and narrowed. The improvement is very slow.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

1. Usually safe
2. Not effective at preventing, slowing or reversing cataracts.

JHC MD