Treat Minor Cataracts

Status
Not open for further replies.
H

harryzmom

Member
During regular check-up Harry was diagnosed with minor cataracts. They aren't a problem now but I'd like to see if I can prevent growth and/or reverse. I've been reading about L-Carnitine and have seen some posts here but can't find any background info. (side effects, dosage, point of purchase)

His mother was a Birman, which apparently are prone to cataracts, so he has increased potential...

Harry is well- / tightly-regulated on lantus.

Thanks!
harryzmom
 
You may mean N-acetylcarnosine, not L-Carnitine (an amino acid or protein building block)

N-acetylcarnosine (NAC) eye drops have not been approvide by the FDA for treatment of cataracts and cannot be imported into the USA. If you are or go abroad, you might be able to get it.

If you do a google search on "cataract +NAC" and delve into the web sites, you will note that most sites refer to articles done by the same researcher. They were not good enough for the FDA to approve the import of the product. (I looked into this a while ago because of my own cataracts.)
 
Its the same product, created by Mark Babizhayev. You cannot legally import to the USA because of FDA; I know because I asked the FDA directly.

Note: if all of his advertising would only claim they were moisturizing eye drops, he could sell it here legally. Because of the cataract remission claim, he is making a veterinary (or medical on some sites) claim and the product is not cleared for sale in the USA because of it.

Yes, on the surface, the research looks good; I actually have several of his articles that I downloaded when I was researching cataract treatment for myself. The problem is that none of the protocols used in his studies were double-blind, placebo-controlled research, which the FDA requires. Several were observational for the most part, some of the measurements used were created by the researcher and were not standard tools for measuring cataract, and the statistics are not very well done.

On the FDA site:
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2005/ucm108522.htm
http://google2.fda.gov/search?q=N-A...DAgov&output=xml_no_dtd&getfields=*&x=16&y=14
 
Thanks for your thoughts. I understand the basis of his methodology, and the biology and chemistry behind the product.

The fact that the fda does not approve it is fine with me, as it is a government agency and typically don't know what they're doing.

Thanks again, Dianne
 
It just makes getting it difficult.

You may be able to work with a vet and do a proper FDA investigation of how it works for your cat.

Or take a letter from a physician, go to a country that sells it legall, and bring it back for personal use.
 
If you do, please keep good documentation - collect all vet reports, dose dates and times, etc. essentially, you'll be doing a single subject case study, which could be publishable in a research journal. Getting results (in either direction) published helps generate interest in doing more research on something. If you were to collaborate with a vet, you might even get it in a veterinary journal.
 
Hmm, interesting idea :smile:

I'm talking to my vet about this tomorrow and I'll ask if he'd be interested in tracking etc.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top