Case #69: LifeMeter in Clinical Practice and the value of carotenoid testing in AMD

ReferencesErmakov IV, et al. Optical Assessment of Skin Carotenoid Status as a Biomarker of Vegetable and Fruit Intake. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2018 May 15;646:46-54. Conrady, C.D., et al. Correlations Between Macular, Skin, and Serum Carotenoids. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2017;58(9):3616-3627.Caparello G, et al. Association between Skin Carotenoid Score Measured with Veggie Meter* and Adherence to

Dr. Amanda Legge graduated from PCO at Salus University in 2012. She obtained an advanced studies in retina certification during her studies at PCO with additional coursework and retina-centric internships.   Her retina interests include AMD, inherited retina disease, and diabetic and hypertensive retinopathy. She is also a primary eyecare provider to

Disclosures While not compensated for this particular publication, Dr. Amanda Legge is a paid consultant for MacuHealth.

Carotinoid Testing in Clinical Practice Case Example: The Student with a Dozen Donuts   Case and image provided courtesy of Dr. Jerome Sherman (New York, NY) A 3rd year optometry student in lab  had the lowest  score in her class.   Observing her lunch she admitted to eating donuts but

LifeMeter in Clinical Practice Case Examples: 44yo female with strong FHx of AMD.LifeMeter = 320 Facilitate importance of nutrition discussions in exam room to cause real improvements in diet and LifeMeter measurements. Same 44yo female with strong FHx of AMD made purposeful changes to dietary habits. LifeMeter = 452 

LifeMeter in Clinical Practice Case Examples: 08/10/2021 08/12/2022 FAF at 488nm - after supplementation macula pigment accumulation causes decrease in central FAF signal. Images provided courtesy of Dr. David Wagner (Seneca, PA)

LifeMeter in Clinical Practice FAF Case Examples: 08/21/2020 09/06/2022 FAF at 488nm - after supplementation macula pigment accumulation causes decrease in central FAF signal. Images provided courtesy of Dr. David Wagner (Seneca, PA)

LifeMeter in Clinical Practice FAF Case Examples: FAF imaging is helpful to see the effect that supplementation has on the macula pigment visually:The highest density of macular pigments exists in the foveal area which blocks the normal autofluorescence of the RPE in the macula.Absorption of the 488 nm blue light by macular pigments, especially the

LifeMeter in Clinical Practice Case Examples: Husband (58), long haul truck driver, admits to eating quick meals with minimal vegetable intakeLifeMeter = 219 Having honest discussions with patients about their diet prior to LifeMeter testing matches closely with their measurement. Health-conscious Wife (57) who tries to follow a plant based diet

LifeMeter in Clinical Practice:  While >400 is associated with sufficient MPOD and beneficial health & visual performance, the mean and median is much lower in the American population. This trend holds true in clinical practice.  Mean:  285SD:  96Median:  291.5Range: Not detectable – 612Scale:  0 - 800