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Mirtogenol, a supplement against glaucoma
If you are in the process of developing glaucoma, you may be able to slow that process by supplementation. According to a sponsored human study, Mirtogenol, a combination of Pycnogenol and a bilberry extract, reduces your interocular pressure by 3 points.
Study
In 2008, researchers from Horphag, the producer of the pine extract Pycnogenol, and Indena, a producer of a steadily growing number of plant extracts, published a small human study in which 38 subjects participated. The subjects had in common that the pressure in their eye was 22 mmHg or higher. They could still see well, but if the eye pressure rose even further, they could develop glaucoma.
In the form of glaucoma in which the researchers were interested, the visual field is reduced due to damage to nerve pathways in the eye as a result of too high pressure in the eye.
Mirtogenol
Half of the test subjects received a placebo for six months. The other half received 2 capsules daily of Mirtogenol, a combination of Horphag's Pycnogenol and Indena's Mirtoselect. Mirtoselect is an extract of bilberry. It mainly contains anthocyanins.
Each Mirtogenol capsule contained 40 milligrams of Pycnogenol and 80 milligrams of Mirtoselect.
Results
After 2 months of supplementation, the pressure in the eye dropped from 25.2 mmHg to 22.2 mmHg. After another month of supplementation, the eye pressure had dropped a little further to 22 mmHg. After that, the eye pressure did not improve any further.
The researchers used ultrasound technology to determine how quickly blood could move through a number of crucial blood vessels in the eye. The speed increased due to supplementation, according to the table below.
Click on the table for a larger version.
See more clearly?
The test subjects could still see clearly before the study started. This did not change during the experiment.
Conclusion
"Our study is the first demonstration showing that dietary intervention can help to control intraocular pressure and increase ocular blood flow in asymptomatic subjects and if taken in time, may prevent an evolution to higher pressure and symptomatic glaucoma," the researchers summarize.
"The safety of Mirtogenol is warranted as its components Mirtoselect and Pycnogenol are used as dietary supplements since decades without serious side effects."
"A clinical trial with a larger number of subjects should further assess the benefits of Mirtogenol for controlling intraocular pressure."
More coming soon.
Source:
Mol Vis. 2008 Jul 10:14:1288-92.
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