UNIC’s Medical School Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, Katerina Prokopiou, is the first author of the study ‘A prospective multicentre, randomised, double-blind study designed to assess the potential effects of omega-3 fatty acids,’ which was presented at the conference of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2022 held recently in Denver, Colorado. Dr Prokopiou presented the promising results of a study on the effects of omega-3 fatty acids in patients with age-related dry macular degeneration and Stargardt disease.
In an interview with HCPLive during the conference, Dr Prokopiou discussed the prospect of eventually including omega-3 fatty acid supplements in the management and prevention plans for patients with age-related macular degeneration.
Prokopiou highlighted the product’s accessibility and cost-effectiveness relative to AMD’s standard-care intravitreal injection therapy – as well as the minimal contraindications for the use of omega-3 fatty acids. She anticipated – dependent on robust clinical outcome data – that it could become a guideline-directed add-on treatment for patients with chronic retinal disease.
Prokopiou expressed interest in seeing the supplement used as a prophylaxis for patients with very early-stage disease “I think it could be considered as a preventive measure,” she said. “The earlier that you use it, the more benefit you are going to have, and this is something that clinicians see in practice: the earlier the stage and milder the disease, the better the outcome.”