News tagged with 'Macular Degeneration'

St. John's wort shows some phototoxicity to the eyes, which may not show up for years in the form of cataracts and macular degeneration among users taking it for depression. But under law, the industry largely regulates itself and federal regulations take over only after the consumer is harmed. The uninformed user is left vulnerable.

A warning for those who use St. John's wort as a natural alternative to prescription drugs. "Nature's Prozac" also can be phototoxic to the eye lens creating cataracts, a reaction that's only been seen in the lab until now.

Hypericin, the active compound in the herb, St. John's wort, works to keep depression at bay but also has been shown in the lab to be phototoxic to the human ocular lens. Now for the first time, a correlation has been seen in the human population between the popular herb and cataracts.

A new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests taking B vitamins could lower the risk of age-related macular degeneration. The findings are the first to suggest a possible early prevention measure.

Gene research is being called a major breakthrough in stopping the leaking blood vessels behind the eye that contribute to macular degeneration and diabetic blindness.