- With Mayo Clinic emeritus ophthalmologist
Dennis Robertson, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Dennis Robertson, M.D.
Dennis Robertson, M.D.
Dennis M. Robertson was born in South St. Paul, Minn., and grew up in a musical family on the Mississippi River. He completed his undergraduate and graduate training at the University of Minnesota, where he received a B.A., B.S. and M.D.
Following an internship at San Bernardino County Hospital in California, he worked for two years on Indian reservations under the umbrella of the U.S. Public Health Service. He later completed a residency in ophthalmology at Mayo Clinic and pursued postgraduate fellowship training in vitreoretinal disorders at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. He returned to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., where he worked as a consultant from 1967 until retiring from clinical activities in December 2007.
His studies included a sabbatical during 1987 and 1988 at Moorfields and St. Bartholomew’s hospitals in London. His scientific interests have been chiefly in disorders of the retina and vitreous and ocular oncology. In 1999, he became the recipient of the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Professorship.
Alternative medicine (1)
- Eye vitamins: Can they prevent or treat glaucoma?
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Question
Eye vitamins: Can they prevent or treat glaucoma?
I have had glaucoma for years. I just saw an ad for eye vitamins. Could these improve my vision or protect me from further vision loss?
Answer
from Dennis Robertson, M.D.
Probably not. There are now a number of different dietary supplements for eye health on the market. However, there is little evidence that any of these products — often marketed as "eye vitamins" — can prevent glaucoma or reverse vision loss due to glaucoma.
One small study published in 2003 suggested that ginkgo biloba may improve vision in people with glaucoma. Another small study published in 2003 suggested that citicoline may improve visually evoked potentials in people with glaucoma. But more research is needed to confirm these findings and to clarify what role, if any, dietary supplements may play in the prevention or treatment of glaucoma.
For this reason, despite what the advertisements may promise, your best bet is to follow your eye doctor's recommendations and use the medications he or she prescribes.
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