Simple supplement reverses the most common cause of blindness

06 May 2009

A simple supplement could prevent – and even reverse – one of the leading causes of blindness, responsible for 15 per cent of all cases, scientists have discovered.

A vitamin B1 supplement called benfotiamene is effective against uveitis, an inflammatory disease of the eyeball tissue.

Uveitis is usually treated with antibiotics or steroid eye drops, but researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have found that benfotiamene, a fat soluble form of vitamin B1, could be more effective.

When they tested the supplement on rats, they found it successfully suppresses the condition. It also appears to come with no side effects.

(Source: Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 2009; 50: 2276-82).

Simple supplement reverses the most common cause of blindness

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