AREDS study, unbiased?

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The AREDS study was run over a period of 10 years, involving 3,640 patents. After that followed the AREDS2 study for another 5 year period.

The results of these studies were regarded as the holy grail as far as nutritional supplements for our eyes were concerned.

However, there are more and more claims being made about the validity of many of the results, since many of the funders, patent holders and researchers might not have been as un-biased as we perceived them to be. The problem is that so much of science and research, is backed by undeclared conflicts of interest. Which, up to a point is acceptable, because someone has to fund the research. The warning flags go up when it becomes known that patents and certain conclusions were put in place long before the study was concluded and in some instances even before the study had started. Many academics raised their concerns about the validity of claims made by some manufacturers of supplements based on the outcome of the AREDS study.

The companies manufacturing the supplements are all aggressively marketing their supplement products to the not-so well informed, trusting, gullible public, because most vitamins and nutrients are not only ubiquitous in nature, they are also easily obtained from well balanced diets.  The AREDS study also showed that patients with certain genetic dispositions were harmed by some of the ingredients in the commercial formulas, such as Zinc. There is also evidence that the supplemental drinking of Vitamin E and even Vitamin C, over and above a balanced diet can be harmfull to many individuals. It seems that the AREDS research might have been poorly conducted and reported in an even worse, low scientific standard.

The herbal supplement market world-wide is huge and to a large extent un-regulated. To market herbal products, the manufacturer doesn’t have to provide proof, as with registered medicines, that the product works. Most of them get away with statements like “as used by indigenous populations” or “historically is has been said” that their product works. Then, the next big question arises. How do we know what the ingredients of the capsule or tablet is and does it contain the correct herbal species at the correct concentration? As in food products, many might not even contain any of the correct ingredients. The AREDS study was not about herbal products, but, in many instances vitamins, minerals and herbs are all grouped in the same semi- to un- regulated multi billion dollar market, in which there are many unscrupulous manufacturers.

As for eye patients, those burdened with the diagnosis of AMD, tend to clutch to every straw of hope. Many end up spending vast amounts of money on supplements, in the false hope and in some cases even the worsening of their vision as a result of over enthusiastic marketing campaigns. In many instances they could have had similar or even better results by eating well balanced meals. Or, in the least, not caused or aggravated any conditions by adhering to a healthy, well balanced diet.

 

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SPUMS 44th Annual Scientific meeting 2

 

There is a large selection of dive computers on the market. Many of them have adjustable “personal settings” and are used by the divers. However, many of the decompression settings are only arrived at by basic subtraction  of numeric values such as altitude. So, the diver must evaluate all circumstances relevant to the specific dive and not look at the computer settings in isolation.

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Dr. Martin Sayer also said that occupational divers in the UK and have set standards for the independent breathing gas supply that divers must have available to them to resurface in emergencies. The problem with setting such standards is that the  breathing rate and air consumption varies significantly, not only from person to person, but also in the same person depending on the depth and type of work that is being done. In their studies they found that the breathing rates in certain situations can be as high as 134 l/m.  Seeing that current dive cylinders only have a compressible pressure of 230 bar.

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The hyperbaric facilities  in England and Wales also have to belong to the BHA to be able to receive funding. They have  regular appraisals done to keep the standards high. The appraisal is a modification of the Scottish standard of appraisal. This is a good way to keep the “good” and get rid of the “bad and the ugly”.

Dr Martin Sayer is at  the head of the UK National Facility for Scientific Diving, as well as the West Scotland Centre for Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine. He also has many other appointments in the fields of diving and underwater technology.

Dr. Martin Sayer was one of the main speakers at the recent  SPUMS  Annual Scientific meeting that was held in Palau.

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SPUMS 44th Annual Scientific meeting

Palau Rock Islands

Palau Rock Islands

Breath-hold diving is gaining popularity as an underwater sport and is not without it’s dangers. But, the breath-hold diving fraternity seems to be doing very well in the sense that they are training and looking after the safety of their members. It isn’t a sport that you would like to participate in without team support. Dr. Neal Pollock gave an interesting talk on how the “free-divers”  support and look after their own.

Blindly relying on your dive computer, when most divers don’t even know what algorithms the computer is using, is scary. Completely relying on your dive computer for “safe” diving………….not a good idea! It is always important to remember that the dive computer is an external device, is not implanted in your body and therefore is not measuring your specific individual systems and organs. Dr. Neal Pollock stressed that it can at best provide you with mathematical profiles and strategies to keep you safer. You are still the master of your body and must ultimately decide what is safe for yourself on a given day, time and situation.

Dr. Neal Pollock was the keynote speaker at the 44th annual SPUMS Annual Scientific Meeting in Palau, Micronesia. He is the research director at DAN (Divers Alert Network) and Research Associate in the Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Environmental Physiology at Duke University Medical Center.

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This year’s meeting of SPUMS (South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society) was held in Palau.

The convener of the meeting was Dr. Catherine Meehan and the current president of the society is Dr. David Smart.

The SPUMS meeting is currently the best meeting of it’s kind in the world. Attending a meeting in a tropical island location, is only one of the fringe benefits. It still has to be a worthwhile scientific meeting and this meeting certainly excelled in that department.

Some of the main “take home and rethink” topics were diabetics and diving and decompression table/programme selection. The topics and papers presented will be published in the Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine  journal of SPUMS and EUBS.

More is to follow about the other speakers and topics.

 

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