Cataracts, Alternative Treatment

There is an article by Dr. Jonathan V. Wright in the July 2008 edition of Nutrition and Healing that discusses a trial of n-acetyl-carnosine eye drops for the treatment of cataracts. Using two drops a day, in six months 90 per cent of the treated eyes showed improvement, as high as 100 per cent.

I did not know of this article when I started using the drops in November 2009. For the first six months I only used one drop a day. When I saw improvement I went to the standard treatment of 2 drops a day. By November 2010 (exactly one year later) my left eye improved 100 per cent and my right eye almost that much. I am still under treatment. My progress is documented by my retina MD. I will be tested again this coming May. There are no side effects.

Before I started the treatment I was told I needed cataract surgery. I am now told that I do not.

[gymdandee]

you say " Almost none of it is legitimate" so then you do agree some is legitimate.
Would you please list those that are legitimate? Would you please list your source of information that  N ACETYL CARNOSINE will not slow down the progression of cataracts?

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

There are some eye drops under legitimate study that show promise of slowing down the progression of cataracts BUT N ACETYL CARNOSINE IS NOT ONE OF THEM. There is a well organized  promotional machine on the internet that promotes this "miracle product". Almost none of it is legtimate  and is overwhelming geared to selling the stuff on the internet.

JCH MD

[gymdandee]

you say " Almost none of it is legitimate" so then you do agree some is legitimate.
Would you please list those that are legitimate? Would you please list your source of information that  N ACETYL CARNOSINE will not slow down the progression of cataracts?

[JodieJ]

I spent a little time researching the Nutrition and Healing journal.  It seems that all the articles in this journal are written by Dr. Wright, who is also the president and cofounder of the American Quack Association.  This does not contribute to my confidence in the efficacy of n-acetyl carnosine eye drops for treating cataracts.

[allmymarbles]

What can I say? Here I am with much improved eyesight. I have gotten to the stage where I can read, with difficulty, normal type without glasses. I can't even remember when I was last able to do that. There are not many trials, and certainly not large ones, for alternative medicine remedies (and I consider "alternative" a misnomer). As you and I know it is because there is no money to fund them. So people do as I do. We try them out if they seem reasonable. I hit it lucky. And not for the first time.

And as for being a co-founder of the American Quack Association (which I didn't know), think tongue-in-cheek. Alternative MD's are often called quacks, aren't they?

[allmymarbles]

There are not many trials (at least not in the U.S.) for the carnosine drops, but the few that I have found showed favorable results. I also keep in mind that when people participate in  studies of this type there is no way to measure compliance, so results are more apt to be better than they appear, rather than worse. I am extremely compliant which may be one of the reasons my results have been so good.

[JodieJ]

I'm glad that you've found a cataract treatment that works for you.

Wikipedia reports that Dr. Wright also advocates a triple-estrogen hormone replacement therapy formula, which he apparently sells.  His formula is based on his study of a small number of women for a short time, with no followup studies about its long-term effectiveness or safety.  Basing medical treatment on this type of research makes me VERY nervous, and there's no way that I would consider trying this formula myself.

Please keep us posted on how you're doing with n-acetyl carnosine.

[margypops]

I wouldnt mind trying it..I am going to check it out ,thank you allmymarbles  

[allmymarbles]

It was the trial I was interested in and I know nothing at all about Dr. Wright. The trial struck me because it mirrored my experience.

There were other improvements with the treatment that I did not mention. I have had arcus senilis for 20 years. The rings have now darkened and narrowed. In my right eye it now looks mottled. My guess is that the deposit has become less dense and my natural eye color (dark brown, almost black) is showing through.

I also have macular degeneration in my left eye. The Amsler Grid shows some bulging, but there are no blank spots. Whereas I could not read through the gray cloud, now I can, so there is some minor improvement. It is easier to judge the progress with my right eye (normal Amsler Grid) which originally had three smallish dark clumps of drusen and scattered bits. Now there is one palish clump and almost no scattering. I meant to ask  the retina MD about this, but was so surprised when told I did not need surgery that everything else fell out of my head. I will ask in May.

As per your request, I will post developments.

[myself0001]

I am really shocked to find the deliberate disinformation that you are being subjected to. Cataracts can be healed. From a Daily Mail article wisely displayed by a website selling a carnosine cure, you find that Prof. Steven Gallant, a biochemist at London's Bart Hospital, has informed the journalist that the success rates in clearing cataracts using this method is almost 100 per cent over a three to six-month period.

I say wisely because although newspapers are not always accurate, an astute reader can usually work out what is reliable, and it is plain and obvious that this is a reliable and very well written article.

[es98]

I developed cataracts 6 years ago at a early age.  Not believing that there could be no natural cure, I researched and researched and finally decided to try the n-acetyl-carnosine drops.  I took them as directed, and in the end, they did absolutely nothing except lighten my wallet.

[cwatt1]

I'm very happy for the results that allmymarbles has experienced.  I hope the treatment continues to go well

Having said that, I have seen articles and ads about n-carnosine that date back to 2004.  If this were the be-all and end-all non-surgical cure for cataracts, I have to think almost everybody would be using it.  To the best of my knowledge there remains only one real treatment for cataracts, and that is surgical removal.

[allmymarbles]

Interesting post. From my own experience, and this is verified by a retinal MD, my cataracts have regressed over a one-year period to the point where I no longer need surgery. I question curing cataracts in three or six months. This has not been my experience and I am a very compliant person. It may be possible that the cataracts treated were in the very early stages. That would make sense.

I was to make another report on my progress at the end of May. Unfortunately, in early May I had a terrible accident and was hospitalized for a month and then in rehab for a another month. I just got back home a few days ago. I have not been treating my eyes and have not seen the retina MD. The reason I have not been using the drops is that one of my medications would interfere with it.

Having said that, once I am on my feet again and free of the problematic medication, I will resume the treatment of my eyes.

It doesn't matter to me that people may cry "Bah! Humbug!" I am not seeking approval. But this is certain. My sight has improved dramatically, and my doctors do not cry "Bah! Humbug!"

[allmymarbles]

It has been a bad year. And a good year. That is to say that I am still alive and more so every day. After the accident my sight seemed to have worsened somewhat, which was discouraging. This past March 19th I started using the drops again, after a lapse of 10 months. As before my sight is improving very slowly, but in this case I start without a baseline since I did not have my eyes retested before resuming treatment. I shall probably wait until September to be retested.