Research has shown that both optometrists and ophthalmologists frequently fail to diagnose age-related macular degeneration (AMD) about 25% of the time with no difference between the two specialties.1 Histopathological and clinical research suggests that subclinical AMD has both structural and functional consequences before drusen are even evident in clinical imaging.2-5 In fact, drusen represent the tip of the iceberg of the earliest changes caused by AMD. What if practitioners could not only identify those with early AMD by dark adaptation testing before drusen develop but also better identify those most at risk of developing the disease before it begins by macular pigment optical density (MPOD) testing and careful case histories such as family history and lifestyle factors? Educating patients on modifiable lifestyle factors at an earlier stage before drusen appear could change the trajectory of the disease and save sight.

COMMENT: Materialist Medicine misses the mark by focusing on managing damaged structures rather than enhancing corrective functions. Dr. Poteet correctly points to loss of night vision quality as well as functional levels of protective carotenoids in the macula as early indicators of failing macular health. That's why I've develop an arsenal of Functional Formulations targeting these very factors. Night Vision supports restoration and optimization of the dark adaptation function, which eye doctors can easily measure. The carotenoids are critically important for maintenance of vision and many other functions with healthy aging. Professor Ames of Stanford University considers the "Longevity Vitamins" because they are essential to prevent blindness and other degenerative conditions, even though they are not conventionally classified as vitamins since there is no acute deficiency disease. Professor Ames is widely known for developing the standard Ames test for the carcinogenicity of toxins... One of the challenges with carotenoids is that they compete for absorption by a single absorption channel in the small intestine. When multiple "mixed carotenoids" are supplemented, as they often are, there is competitive inhibition of their bioavailability, and if alpha or beta carotene is included in the mix, none of the others may be effectively absorbed. That's why I formulate Macular Wellness and other relevant formulations with a single carotenoid in each to ensure absorption. I also use a series of botanical and nutritional synergists to increase solubility, bioavailability, local circulation, absorption, and delivery to the eye and other target tissues. We also exercise maximum care to avoid use of interfering factors present in most commercial products, including stearates (which form a biofilm on nutrients and the intestinal mucosa, reducing absorption of all nutrients including those in the diet), phthalates (which destroy immune function), and gelatin (which harbors glyphosate according the the research of MIT's Professor Stephanie Seneff). Combining multiple synergists has become a core principle in creating Functional Formulations. Even if pairs of synergistic effects produce only an average of 10% increase in effectiveness, combining dozens of such pairs can multiply to achieve a geometric increase in outcomes of hundreds of percentage points. We liken this to the clinical effectiveness and efficiency achieved by Dr. Reckeweg with complex homeopathy, and the widely acknowledged entourage effect seen in botanical medicine. We also promote the addition of other synergistic therapies including therapeutic PEMF frequencies that increase circulation by 30%, an amount typically lost in 40 years of aging. A second foundational therapeutic addition is high pH water that is also enriched in electron content. The smaller clusters of this 'Living Water' penetrate tissues and cells 10 times better than other filtered waters, delivering increased nutrition and detoxification. Combining these two therapies yields a combined increase of 1300% effect. Each of these modalities alone is powerful enough to prevent the need for a scheduled limb amputation, while no other therapy is known to deliver such healing power.

When we transform our orientation to optimizing function we can achieve much more than merely preventing disease. We come to realize that disease and health are not a binary condition dependent upon a diagnosis, but a continuum of states in which the middle ground is a state of susceptibility. The family history is considered as a risk factor for AMD as with many chronic, degenerative, and all-too-common conditions. When our goal is transformed from diagnosing and treating disease to optimizing wellness, we discover that the inherited pattern of susceptibility to maladies that run in the family is an epigenetic state that cries out for healing at the earliest possible point. It is a once-in-a-lifetime non-invasive process of Transgenerational Perception Reframing that can be accomplished via the internet with a modicum of hardware, software, and coaching support. Typical Odds Ratios for risk based on family history of a condition can be over 2 with a single first degree relative and over 4 with multiple first degree relatives affected. It's important to realize that even 100% 'genetic' conditions are epigenetically modifiable. For example, two identical twins shared the genes for Retinitis Pigmentosa. One went blind when she reached adulthood while her sister never lost the normal visual function that is characteristic in childhood in those with the genes for RP. We now have powerful tools such as EVOX and NES Infoceuticals to turn off disease genes and activate healthy genes.

Source: Family health history: underused for actionable risk assessment https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6822265/

In an article for Women in Optometry, Professor of Optometry Dr. Julie Rodman makes a clear case for earlier identification of macular degeneration through dark adaptation testing. In her article, “Big Change Is a Small Choice,” Professor Rodman points out that trouble seeing at night is a symptom that appears before the onset of drusen, and impaired dark adaptation is an early symptom. Waiting until drusen appears is a broken system as so many people continue to go blind from the disease. “It’s broken, so let’s fix it…by detecting AMD before clinical signs are evident on examination and managing early and intermediate stage disease with the same close attention that retina specialists focus on late-stage disease, we potentially can make a significant difference in patients’ lives.”

[see original article for images]

Optomap and OCT of both eyes from a 78-year-old female with intermediate to advanced dry AMD. This patient is on an AREDS2 supplement with fatty fish consumption twice a week and a Mediterranean diet. She has been advised of evidence-based lifestyle interventions to help reduce the risk of disease progression.

COMMENT: An 86 year old man lost his driver’s license despite taking a top Macular health supplement from Life Extension Foundation, a great organization that does tremendous education and important lobbying to keep supplements available to all of us. In one month of Accelerated Self Healing, he regained enough vision to restore his driver's license. One out of three Americans over the age of 75 suffer from Macular Degeneration (AMD) and it is the leading cause of blindness. Even after 40 years of clinical research documenting that it can heal at any stage, the textbooks and standard practices still call it irreversible, because it is irreversible with the current standards of care. This is why I put so much effort into developing the New Medicine with a strong foundation in Clinical Theory and Clinical Praxis.

Discuss Prevention Strategies

Eye doctors can learn a lot about prevention from the American Heart Association. When heart experts talk about prevention, they usually refer to one of three types: secondary, primary, and primordial prevention.6,7

Secondary prevention:

These efforts are started after someone has already had a heart attack or stroke, undergoes bypass surgery, or develops some other form of heart disease in an attempt to prevent a second heart attack or stroke.

Primary prevention:

This type of intervention aims to keep an individual at risk of heart disease due to risk factors such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol from having a first heart attack or stroke. The appearance though of worrisome cardiovascular risk factors means that inflammation, atherosclerosis, and/or endothelial dysfunction are already at work.6

Primordial prevention:

The word “primordial” means existing from the beginning, and this type of prevention involves working to prevent inflammation, atherosclerosis, and endothelial dysfunction from taking hold in the first place. Once rarely discussed, primordial prevention is now the cornerstone of the American Heart Association’s definition of ideal heart health and efforts to help people achieve it.6 As its name applies, the sooner you can start practicing primordial prevention, ideally from childhood on, the likely you are to achieve it and protect yourself from heart disease.6, 7

If we take these prevention terms and apply them to irreversible vision loss from the most common cause of blindness in individuals over 50 in the developed world, advanced macular degeneration, it may look something such as the following:

Secondary prevention would apply to the sight-saving injections for late-stage AMD that retinal surgeons use to stave off further vision loss once the advanced stage has occurred.

COMMENT: According to leading holistic Ophthalmologist, Dr. Ed Kondrot, 40% of those receiving injections end up with worse vision in the end than they would have without the procedures. Clinical research results are distorted by defining stable vision as losing up to 2 lines of visual acuity! Some patients, such as one of our clients, end up losing all vision in the injected eye due to infection caused by the breach of the ocular integrity. Our clients with Wet AMD typically are able to reduce the frequency of prescribed injections and eventually not need them anymore. Just last week a client reported that her Retinologist was shocked that she didn't need an injection because she had converted from Wet to Dry AMD. We also support the healing of problematic leaky neovascular blood vessels with our botanical/nutritional AngiogenX capsule formulation. The reduction of scar tissue that tends to contract and cause vessel leakage and breakage is supported by a Functional Formulation as well, called Clear the Way. Visible reduction in scar tissue is often achieved even in the first week. We look forward to the application of this formula with hidden scar tissue such as in head trauma, where contraction of the scar tissue 6 to 12 months following closed head trauma is a common cause of visual sequellae rehabilitated by neuro-optometrists with behavioural vision therapy. Together, we will be able to achieve greater restoration of function with faster and easier results!

[see original article for images]

Optomap from 78-year-old patient’s 57-year-old son with no macular drusen and no night driving complaints. Because of his family history of macular degeneration, in-office MPOD testing was performed, and his score was 0.20, which is very low and falls into the category of grossly inadequate photoreceptor protection. This patient was put on a macular carotenoid supplement and advised on lifestyle prevention measures to reduce his risk of AMD. 

Primary prevention could apply to the use of AREDS2 supplements for intermediate or late AMD where the formation of drusen has already occurred. Research shows that RPE cells deposit locally generated cholesterol beneath the RPE cell layer and in Bruch’s membrane before drusen are formed.2,5 With disease progression, this cholesterol continues to accumulate, resulting in focal areas that are thickened enough to be identified as drusen.2,3,4,5 This cholesterol accumulation causes three primary insults to the retina: inflammation, oxidative stress, and disruption of oxygen and nutrition supplies to the outer retina.3,5 Waiting until intermediate AMD to intervene with AREDS2 supplements means that inflammation and oxidative stress have been occurring for some time.

In his opinion as stated in an article he wrote on how early diagnosis can improve AMD outcomes, Dr. Jeffry Gerson, who lectures and writes extensively on AMD, stated the following, “The clinical staging of AMD is misinterpreted and has led to a defeatist view of what we can achieve in terms of more effective management of dry AMD. By the time we can visualize change, damage has already been done.” 5

Primordial prevention could include public health interventions with the aim to adopt a correct lifestyle, including healthy diet, physical activity, and cessation of smoking as recommended strategies for AMD prevention. Educating patients with a family history of macular degeneration on prevention strategies should occur with every eye examination.

Nutrients and Food Sources for AMD Prevention9