"To test this, we used antioxidants, which protect cells from oxygen damage, and since they allowed many more cones to survive, it proves that the suspect is guilty," says Lead researcher Peter Campochiaro. Previously scientists knew that patients with RP went blind because of the damage, but they didn't know what caused it.
Because of the difficulty of the study and the lack of patentability of the cure, the efficacy of vitamin E may never be formally tested enough to be accepted as a treatment by the FDA. Many other herbs and dietary cures don't get FDA approval because a major drug company isn't willing to fund the research if they can't profit from the product's patent.
"This study is yet more evidence demonstrating that nature knows best when it comes to preventing degenerative disease," said Mike Adams, consumer health advocate and proponent of nutritional therapies. "We know today that the best medicine in the world is synthesized by plants, not by pharmaceutical factories. And to take these medicines, all we have to do is eat raw nuts and seeds rich in vitamin E."
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