{"id":29,"date":"2019-12-17T20:13:17","date_gmt":"2019-12-17T20:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ocufolin.co.uk\/?page_id=29"},"modified":"2022-01-23T20:06:18","modified_gmt":"2022-01-23T20:06:18","slug":"about-ocufolin","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ocufolin.co.uk\/?page_id=29","title":{"rendered":"About Ocufolin\u00ae"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

about ocufolin\u00ae<\/span><\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

A breakthrough in<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

AMD And Diabetic Retinopathy Supplementation<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Using Ocufolin\u00ae forte as a supplement to reduce the risk of AMD<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS 1<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0AREDS 2<\/a>) showed reduced progression to advanced stages of the disease in AMD patients with morphological AMD impairment. However, the effect evidenced in the ARED Studies was restricted to the combination of antioxidants, zinc and lutein\/zeaxanthin. After AREDS, efforts to develop appropriate formulations ceased. The impact of folates on the complex retinal pathology of AMD was hardly considered. Folate deficiency has been identified as an important pathogenic factor in eye diseases such as AMD. Insufficient folate levels lead to increased homocysteine. Homocysteine levels >15 \u03bcmol\/l are linked to increased risk of AMD incident in patients under 75. Additionally, hyperhomocysteinemia combined with low Vitamin B12 levels represents a major risk factor (Blue Mountains Eye Study, 2013<\/a>).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Using Ocufolin\u00ae forte as a supplement to reduce the risk of DR<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

In a systematic review and meta analysis high homocysteine levels have been shown to be a risk factor for DR (Xu et al. 2014<\/a>). The status of vitamins B was identified to be a major cofounding factor for DR (Satyanarayana et al. 2011<\/a>). Patients with elevated homocysteine showed coincidently low folate and vitamin B12 levels (Fotiou et al. 2014<\/a>). Above a threshold level for homocysteine of >13 \u03bcmol\/l the risk of DR increases significantly. Vitamin D is a multi functional fat soluble ingredient identified as a potent inhibitor of retinal neovascularization in ischemic retinopathy (Qin et al. 2017)<\/a>. In response to these results, two ophthalmologists in the USA developed Ocufolin\u00ae, a formulation designed specifically for use in ophthalmology. It is currently the only ocular supplement containing the particularly active form of folic acid: L-Methylfolate Calcium. An important criterion in developing the formulation of Ocufolin\u00ae was the description of the existence of the folate receptor alpha (FR\u03b1) and the reduced folate transporter (RFT-1) at the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). This evidenced the important role of folate in retinal metabolism (Smith et al. 2000<\/a>).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Difference between folic acid and L-Methylfolate<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Studies by the US ophthalmologists showed many of their patients had a genotype which inhibits the metabolism of folic acid to L-methylfolate (MTHFR polymorphism). For patients with this genotype, even an increased intake of folic acid does not guarantee that the retina is supplied with sufficient metabolised active folate.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Riskfactor Homocysteine<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Elevated Hcy levels along with oxidative stress have been associated in the etiology of several vascular diseases that can lead to the development of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in AMD and DR (Singh et al. 2017<\/a>,\u00a0Huang et al. 2015<\/a>). Hcy may be a potential useful biomarker in assessing the microvascular risk in diabetes, and hyperhomocysteinemia is a potential risk factor for DR, especially PDR (Xu et al. 2014<\/a>). Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) is associated with several human visual disorders, such as diabetic retinopathy (DR) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier (BRB) is linked to vision loss in DR and AMD (Mohamed et al. 2017<\/a>).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Correlation Homocysteine and Folate<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Elevated serum tHcy and folate and vitamin B12 deficiencies predicted increased risk of incident AMD, which suggests a potential role for vitamin B12 and folate in reducing AMD risk (Gopinath et al. 2013, BMES<\/a>).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Folic acid versus L-Methylfolate<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Naturally occurring 5-MTHF has important advantages over synthetic folic acid \u2013 it is well absorbed even when gastrointestinal pH is altered and its bioavailability is not affected by metabolic defects (Scaglione et al. 2013<\/a>). Not only is L 5-MTHF more effective in raising blood folate concentrations after 12 weeks than folic acid, but it is also unlikely to mask vitamin B-12 deficiency (Henderson et al. 2018<\/a>). Folic acid is a synthetic form of the vitamin, which is only found in fortified foods, supplements and pharmaceuticals. It lacks coenzyme activity and must be reduced to the metabolically active tetrahydrofolate form within the cell. (Pietrzik et al., 49, (2010), 535<\/a>).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Nutrition versus Supplementation<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Disease-induced nutritional deficiencies often cannot be addressed by nutrient intakes derived from a whole food-based diet alone (Stover et al. 2017<\/a>).<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Ocufolin\u00ae: Next Generation Supplement<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Calcium L-Methylfolate, is a highly bioavailable and active ingredient. This is the new active agent in Ocufolin\u00ae. Using calcium-L-methylfolate in a supplement provides the retina with active folate to reduce or reverse deficiencies resulting from genetic, dietary causes or diseases.<\/p>