How to reduce Floaters in Eyes naturally
Naturally addressing floaters begins with a comprehensive understanding of their nature, the anatomy of a healthy vitreous, and the characteristic of its degeneration. Floaters result from the clustering of collagen fibers within the vitreous, casting shadows on the retina and manifesting as perceived fluff or filaments.
Clinical Trial 2024 & 2017/18, Waterford: 6 months | placebo-controlled | double-blind | 61 patients
Name of the clinical trial: Floater Invention Studie (FLIES)
Research Team: Emmanuel Ankamah, Marina Green-Gomez, Warren Roche, Eugene Ng, Ulrich Welge-Lüßen, Thomas Kaercher, and John M. Nolan
Trial Overview: The FLIES study is the first to assess the impact of targeted nutritional supplementation on vitreous floaters, in the context of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. The clinical trial was conducted with 61 patients, aged 18-79 years, who were supplemented with VitroCap®. The evaluation was conducted through:
- Floater Disturbance Questionnaire: The research team utilized the Floater Disturbance Questionnaire, a short, non-standardized disease-specific patient-reported outcome measure specifically designed to capture the subjective response of patients suffering from vitreous floaters as part of this study. The questionnaire comprised questions, which used polytomous response ratings, to assess the visual discomforts associated with floaters.
- Vitreous Opacity Area Quantification: Using the ultra-widefield imaging module of the SPECTRALIS HRA + OCT by Heidelberg Engineering GmbH, the research team captured a 30-second, 102° field, cross-polarized infrared reflectance movie of the vitreous. Patients were instructed to move their gaze in various directions, after each direction returning their gaze back to an internal fixation target. From this video, five still images were extracted using the Heidelberg Eye Explorer software. Subsequently, vitreous opacity outlines were delineated manually using a ‘freehand selection’ tool. The resulting area of vitreous opacity, averaged across the five images, was reported in square centimeters.
- Visual Function Assessment: Visual Function Assessment: The research team evaluated visual function through various tests:
- Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA) was measured using the computerized Test Chart 2000 Xpert, employing the LogMAR Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study test chart.
- Letter contrast sensitivity was assessed at five different spatial frequencies using the Test Chart 2000 PRO, a computerized Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study test chart.
- Functional contrast sensitivity was evaluated using the Acuity-plus test from the Advanced Vision and Optometric Test.
- Cone and rod sensitivities were measured utilizing the Flicker-Plus test.
2024 update: Warren Roche, PhD, lead statistician of the FLIES study, will leverage his statistical expertise to delve deeper into the original findings and explore their clinical implications within this new study. More information to be found here: https://www.opticianonline.net/content/news/vivaquity-and-ebiga-vision-launch-new-floater-study
Results:
The research was able to demonstrate significant improvements in both subjective visual disturbances and in the objective parameters. The observed benefit in the active group confirms that dietary intake of a formulation of antioxidative and antiglycation micronutrients could avail relevant micronutrients capable of mitigating the mechanisms underlying vitreous degeneration, thereby decreasing the visual discomfort associated with vitreous floaters.
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- The complaint score improved in 67% of the patients
- The vitreous opacity density was reduced in 77% of the patients
- A significant improvement in visual function was observed
Clinical Trial 2018 Heidelberg, Warsaw: 3 months | 463 patients
Name of the clinical trial: The Effect of oral Supplementation with L-lysine, Hesperidin, Proanthocyanidins, Vitamin C and Zinc on Subjects’ Assessment of the Quality of Vision in Patients with Vitreous Floaters
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Research team: Maria Sobol, Maciej Osęka, Thomas Kaercher, Bettina Schmiedchen
Trial overview: The clinical trial was conducted with 462 patients, aged 15-61 years. Their visual floaters symptoms were verified before treatment: 90% of the patients reported visual disturbances. They were mild in 27%, moderate in 28%, highly disturbing in 28% and extremely disturbing in 7% at baseline. Evaluation was conducted through questionnaires after Chi2 test and exact Fisher test before and after 3 months of treatment with VitroCap®.
Results:
- Little improvement 25,9 %
- Moderate improvement 27,6 %
- Significant improvement 28,4 %
- Drastic improvement 8,7 %
The supplementation causes a relevant alleviation of floater disorders, with the improvement in vision appearing to be greater in younger patients, and no differences observed between sexes.
In assessing whether the symptoms improved after the supplementation with VitroCap®, it was affirmed by 21 patients.
Fig.1) Interference by “floaters”. Average score before (orange) and after VitroCap®-taking on a scale of 1 – 5 results (1 = poor, 5 = extremely)
1.) Gerste RD, Kaercher Th, Pharma_Report, ZPA 344; April 2013
(n = 24)
The level of interference was reduced considerably. Fig.1