The active ingredient in Ortho•Eyes is N-Acetyl-L-carnosine. The excitement surrounding Carnosine began when researchers at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia's premier scientific research center, painstakingly documented the unthinkable: that carnosine can not only slow down, but actually reverse, cellular senescence - the process of "aging" at the cellular level. Research has demonstrated that carnosine is capable of slowing down and even reversing cellular aging. Carnosine protects cells from a wide variety of toxic insults but most significantly, carnosine helps the body eliminate glycated proteins. Glycated proteins are proteins that have been damaged by sugar molecules. The attachment of a sugar molecule to a protein leads to structural changes in that protein, which results in loss of function. Protein glycation significantly contributes to the aging process.

 

The problem with glycated proteins is that they are immune to the body's usual "garbage removal system" and are impervious to enzymes which usually breakdown and remove damaged proteins. Carnosine increases the activity of the proteasome, which recycles damaged proteins. Carnosine also forms carnosylated complexes with glycated proteins, and those complexes are more easily removed than the original warped proteins. In test tube studies, it was shown that the glycation of lens alpha-crystallin causes protein aggregation as evidenced by increased light scattering. The addition of carnosine returned light scattering values to baseline levels, suggesting that carnosine reduces glycationinduced aggregation.

 

Glycated proteins accumulate as we get older and affect our ability to see. Protein glycation is a significant problem in cataract formation, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration. Direct delivery of carnosine to the eyes helps undo some of the damage caused to the proteins of the eyes. Studies have demonstrated that topical carnosine alleviates eye tiredness, improves vision, relieves corneal dystrophy, hastens recovery from corrective eye surgery and prevents corneal haze formation after cataract surgery.

 

Instead of using Carnosine itself, more recent trials have used N-Acetyl-L-Carnosine, a metabolite of Carnosine, which the body slowly converts back into free Carnosine, allowing for slower, more thorough delivery of free Carnosine into the eye's tissues and access to areas of the eye where Carnosine itself cannot penetrate.

 

In a recent trial, after just six months, ninety percent of the eyes of people using topical N-Acetyl- L-Carnosine eye drops saw their visual acuity improve, with the strength of the effect ranging from a modest gain to a full 100% recovery. In a two-year extension, none of the lenses of the N-Acetyl-L-Carnosine users had worsened, with 47.8% of patients having clearer lenses than at the start of the trial. 47.4% of those who did not receive the eye-drops containing N-Acetyl-L-carnosine saw their vision worsen and none of the patients in the placebo group saw their vision improve.

 

In another study looking at the visual acuity of older adult drivers affected by visual impairment related to increased glare sensitivity (halos), it was found that 4 months of N-Acetyl-L-Carnosine application resulted in improvement in visual acuity and glare sensitivity, suggesting further evaluation of N-Acetyl-L-Carnosine eye drops for the treatment and prevention of vision impairment in older adults.

 

The evidence is clear. For the first time, a non-surgical treatment is available for those whose vision is slowly fading behind the curse of lens opacities, the most common cause of treatable blindness and the reason behind 1.3 million US operations per year - the most common surgical procedure in the elderly. This treatment is not a drug but a simple protein naturally present in healthy cells with a truly amazing gift - the ability to remove dysfunctional proteins from our eyes. Considering that damaged proteins are behind virtually every age-related decline in vision, it is not surprising that N-Acetyl-L-Carnosine eye drops are beneficial for those whose ability to see is slowly diminishing but also for the rest of us with healthy eyes who want to keep them that way.

 

 

Adult Dosage: 1 or 2 drops in each eye 1-4 times per day or as directed by a physician.

 

Very rarely, a slight stinging may occur when the eye is very dry or the pH of the eye is different from the solution; however, this slight stinging should dissipate in a few seconds. Not recommended for children under the age of 12 years.