Cause: Often caused by high blood pressure or diabetes.

Useful Supplements: Magnesium, Quercetin, Selenium, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin E.

Useful Herbs: Bilberry, Ginkgo Biloba.

Further information: Retinopathy is a progressive disease that causes damage to the retina of the eye. It is often caused by high blood pressure or uncontrolled diabetes, and often leads to complete blindness. Damage includes swelling, hemorrhage, leaking of fluid into the retina, and uncontrolled growth of blood vessels in the eye.
Symptoms of retinopathy include decreased visual acuity and decreased color vision.
The most effective course of prevention and treatment is to control the underlying diseases that lead to retinopathy. In severe cases, surgery may be needed to repair some of the damage to the retina.

The following supplements and herbs may be helpful in the prevention and treatment of retinopathy:

Since free radical damage has been tracked in the development of retinopathy,¹ antioxidants may be helpful in the prevention of this disease. Vitamin C,² Vitamin E,³ and Selenium have all been shown to help improve the effects of retinopathy.⁴

Low levels of Magnesium have been associated with diabetes-induced retinopathy.⁵

Vitamin B6 may prevent the onset of retinopathy.⁶ In children with diabetes, Vitamin B12 may also be helpful.⁷

Bioflavenoids such as Quercetin inhibit aldose reductase, an enzyme which contributes to diabetic retinopathy.⁸

Bilberry extract appears helpful in treating both diabetes- and high blood pressure-induced retinopathy.⁹

Ginkgo Biloba appears to improve color vision in patients with diabetes-related retinopathy.¹⁰ A dose of 60 mg taken twice daily is recommended. Ginkgo Biloba should not be taken by patients taking anticoagulants without the approval of a health professional.

References:

¹Alieva ZA, Gadzhiev RV, Sultanov M. Possible role of the antioxidant system of the vitreous body in delaying the development of diabetic retinopathy. Oftalmol Zh 1985;(3):142–45 (in Russian).
²Sinclair AJ, Girling AJ, Gray L, et al. An investigation of the relationship between free radical activity and vitamin C metabolism in elderly diabetic subjects with retinopathy. Gerontology 1992;38:268–74.
³Runge P, Muller DP, McAllister J, et al. Oral vitamin E supplements can prevent the retinopathy of abetalipoproteinaemia. Br J Ophthalmol 1986;70:166–73.
⁴Crary EJ, McCarty MF. Potential clinical applications for high-dose nutritional antioxidants. Med Hypoth 1984;13:77–98.
⁵Jialal I, Joubert SM. The biochemical profile in Indian patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes in the young with retinopathy. Diabetes Metabol 1985;11:262–65.
⁶Ellis JM, Folkers K, Minadeo M, et al. A deficiency of vitamin B6 is a plausible molecular basis of the retinopathy of patients with diabetes mellitus. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1991;179:615–19.
⁷Kornerup T, Strom L. Vitamin B12 and retinopathy in juvenile diabetics. Acta Paediatr 1958:47:646–51.
⁸Varma D. Inhibition of aldose reductase by flavonoids: Possible attenuation of diabetic complications. Prog Clin Biol Res 1986;213:343–58.
⁹Scharrer A, Ober M. Anthocyanosides in the treatment of retinopathies. Klin Monatsblatt Augenheilk 1981;178:386–89.
¹⁰Lanthony P, Cosson JP. The course of color vision in early diabetic retinopathy treated with Ginkgo biloba extract. A preliminary double-blind versus placebo study. J Fr Ophtalmol 1988;11:671–74 (in French).