Secondary Outcomes in a Clinical Trial of Carotenoids with Coantioxidants versus Placebo in Early Age-related Macular Degeneration

Purpose To report the secondary outcomes in the Carotenoids with Coantioxidants in Age-Related Maculopathy trial. Design Randomized double-masked placebo-controlled clinical trial (registered as ISRCTN 94557601). Participants Participants included 433 adults 55 years of age or older with early age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 1 eye and late-stage disease in the fellow eye (group 1) or early AMD in both eyes (group 2). Intervention An oral preparation containing lutein (L), zeaxanthin (Z), vitamin C, vitamin E, copper, and zinc or placebo. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), contrast sensitivity (CS), Raman spectroscopy, stereoscopic colour fundus photography, and serum sampling were performed every 6 months with a minimum follow-up time of 12 months. Main Outcome Measures Secondary outcomes included differences in BCVA (at 24 and 36 months), CS, Raman counts, serum antioxidant levels, and progression along the AMD severity scale (at 12, 24, and 36 months). Results The differential between active and placebo groups increased steadily, with average BCVA in the former being approximately 4.8 letters better than the latter for those who had 36 months of follow-up, and this difference was statistically significant ( P = 0.04). In the longitudinal analysis, for a 1-log-unit increase in serum L, visual acuity was better by 1.4 letters (95% confidence interval, 0.3–2.5; P = 0.01), and a slower progression along a morphologic severity scale ( P = 0.014) was observed. Conclusions Functional and morphologic benefits were observed in key secondary outcomes after supplementation with L, Z, and coantioxidants in persons with early AMD. Financial Disclosure(s) The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.