Vitamin A and fish oils for preventing the progression of retinitis pigmentosa.

Study answer

What this study found

There is no clear evidence that vitamin A, DHA, or their combination slows progression of retinitis pigmentosa, and the certainty of the evidence is very low. In Berson 1993, cone ERG decline was slower with vitamin A than without vitamin A (8.3% vs 10% per year, P < 0.001; post hoc 6.1% vs 7.1%, P = 0.01), but visual field loss and visual acuity did not clearly improve. In Berson 2004a, DHA plus vitamin A did not outperform vitamin A alone for visual field decline, visual acuity, or ERG decline (for example, HFA total point score 37.95 vs 37.68 dB/year, P = 0.88; ETDRS loss 0.7 letters/year…

Study & population

Systematic review of randomized controlled trials in children and adults with ophthalmologist-diagnosed retinitis pigmentosa, including X-linked and other inherited forms.

Intervention

This review evaluated oral vitamin A and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, a fish oil omega-3) regimens for retinitis pigmentosa, usually given in gelatin capsules for 4 years.

Key limitation

The evidence base was very small and of very low certainty, with heterogeneous genetic forms of retinitis pigmentosa and outcomes that were not consistently improved across trials.

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Original abstract