New research from Tufts University, Boston, has indicated that evidence remains inconclusive in regards to whether or not zinc intake from foods and supplements is beneficial in the primary prevention and treatment of AMD. The analysis, published in the journal, Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (Vishwanathan et al, June 2013, Vol. 54, No. 6, pp 3985-3998) showed that while the results on zinc intake for the prevention of AMD did not paint a clear picture, comprehensive data from AREDS (a large scale US-based multi-centre clinical Age-related Eye Disease Study, sponsored by the National Eye Institute) suggested that zinc treatment may be effective in preventing the progression of the disease to advanced AMD. The authors conclude in their publication that, “zinc supplementation alone may not be sufficient to produce clinically meaningful changes in visual acuity”.