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Cited by 85Retinal Diseases and TreatmentsRetinal Development and DisordersRetinal Imaging and Analysis

Effect of short-term, high-dose retinol on dark adaptation in aging and early age-related maculopathy

Owsley, Cynthia, McGwin, Gerald, Jackson, Gregory R., Heimburger, Douglas C., Piyathilake, Chandrika J., Klein, Ronald, White, Milton F., Kallies, Katherine·2006·Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science
DOI 10.1167/iovs.05-1292
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Abstract

PURPOSE: To examine the effect of a short course of high-dose retinol (preformed vitamin A) on dark adaptation in older adults with normal retinal health or early age-related maculopathy (ARM). METHODS: The study design was a randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled experiment. Adults > or = 50 years of age whose fundus photographs for the eye to be tested psychophysically fell within steps 1 to 9 of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) Grading System were randomly assigned to a 30-day course of 50,000 IU oral retinol or a placebo. At baseline and 30-day follow-up, dark adaptation was tested and the Low Luminance Questionnaire (LLQ), an instrument for assessing difficulty with vision in reduced lighting, was administered. Primary outcomes of interest were rod- and cone-mediated parameters of dark adaptation, with scores on the LLQ's six subscales as secondary outcomes. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 104 participants with 52 each in the intervention and placebo groups. There were no group differences in baseline variables. At 30-days, the dark-adaptation parameters of cone time-constant, cone threshold, rod-cone break, and rod threshold did not differ. The retinol intervention group had significantly larger (i.e., steeper) rod slopes, indicating faster sensitivity recovery, than did the placebo group (P = 0.0419). There were no group differences in scores on the LLQ subscales driving, extreme lighting, emotional distress, general lighting, or peripheral vision. The retinol group had a higher score by five points on the mobility subscale compared with the placebo group (P = 0.0141). Those who had the most self-reported change on the mobility subscale at day 30 were more likely to have greater change in the speed of dark adaptation, as indicated by the rod slope parameter (r = 0.24, P = 0.0141). CONCLUSIONS: A short-term, high-dose course of retinol increased the rate of rod-mediated dark adaptation in older adults who were in the early phases of ARM or were exhibiting normal retinal aging. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that depositions and other structural changes in the retinal pigment epithelium and Bruch's membrane in aging and early ARM cause a localized retinoid deficiency.

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  • Vitamin A is needed for normal visual function, and vitamin A deficiency (hypovitaminosis A) results in visual dysfunction that is reversible with vitamin A supplementation.

    “Vitamin A is needed for normal visual function and vitamin A deficiency (hypovitaminosis A) results in visual dysfunction that is reversible with vitamin A supplementation.”

    From The Role of Vitamin A in Retinal Diseases (2022) · cites this paper as [90]

  • Vitamin A replacement results in improvement of retinal function as well as structure, but long-term deficiency can lead to permanent degeneration of photoreceptors.

    “Vitamin A replacement results in improvement of retinal function as well as structure, however long-term deficiency can lead to permanent degeneration of photoreceptors [31,80,81,83,84,85,86,87,88,90].”

    From The Role of Vitamin A in Retinal Diseases (2022) · cites this paper as [90]

  • Supplementation with nutritional vitamin A can improve night vision difficulties in elderly individuals.

    “supplementation with nutritional vitamin A can improve this condition (Owsley et al., 2006).”

    From Noncanonical autophagy promotes the visual cycle (2013) · cites this paper as Owsley et al., 2006

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Authors
Owsley, C., McGwin, G., Jackson, G. R., Heimburger, D. C., Piyathilake, C. J., Klein, R., White, M. F., & Kallies, K.
Affiliations
  • From the Departments of Ophthalmology,
  • From the Departments of Ophthalmology,2Epidemiology and International Health,3Surgery, and
  • Nutrition Sciences and Medicine, and the
  • University of Alabama at Birmingham (US)
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
ORCID
Venue
Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science
Publisher
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)
Published
2006-04-01
Volume
47
Issue
4
Pages
1310
ISSN
  • 0146-0404 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-5783
DOI
10.1167/iovs.05-1292
OpenAlex
W2080511178
Cited by
85
References
63
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 6
FWCI
3.14
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute on Aging (R01 AG 04212, R01AG004212)
  • National Eye Institute (R21 EY 14071, R21EY014071)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Ophthalmology › Retinal Diseases and Treatments
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Retinal Development and Disorders
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Retinal Imaging and Analysis
Keywords
retinol, vitamin A supplementation, dark adaptation, age-related maculopathy, retinal aging, rod photoreceptors, cone photoreceptors, retinal pigment epithelium, Bruch's membrane, low luminance vision, older adults
MeSH terms
Aged, Aging, Dark Adaptation, Double-Blind Method, Electrophysiology, Female, Humans, Macular Degeneration, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sensory Thresholds, Vitamin A, Vitamins, Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate

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