A multicenter randomized controlled study of antioxidant supplementation with lutein for chronic central serous chorioretinopathy

Purpose: To investigate functional and morphological changes in patients with chronic central serous chorioretinopathy after supplementation with antioxidants containing lutein or a placebo. Procedures: One hundred eyes of 100 patients were randomly divided into 2 groups, one taking tablets with lutein plus other antioxidants and the other taking a placebo for 6 months. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and the subfoveal fluid height on optical coherence tomography were measured. Results: Seventy-nine patients (37 in the supplementation and 42 in the placebo group) completed the 6-month follow-up. In the supplementation group, mean BCVA showed significant improvement (p = 0.003), while there was no significant change in the placebo group (p = 0.589). The mean subfoveal fluid height was significantly reduced, by 28.6%, in the supplementation group (p = 0.028), in contrast to 3.3% in the placebo group (p = 0.898). Conclusions: Antioxidant supplementation significantly reduced subfoveal fluid height. The impacts of antioxidant supplementation on BCVA remain to be elucidated in future studies.