Overview

• Karolinska Institutet has launched a Phase II clinical trial at St. Erik Eye Hospital in Stockholm to test a vitamin supplement therapy for glaucoma patients.
• The trial will evaluate whether B6, B9, B12, and choline supplementation can slow or halt optic nerve damage in humans, as demonstrated in animal models.
• Research published in *Cell Reports Medicine* revealed that one-carbon metabolic dysfunction in the retina impairs vitamin utilization, contributing to glaucoma progression.
• Animal studies showed that the vitamin cocktail halted optic nerve damage in mice with slow-progressing glaucoma and slowed damage in rats with more aggressive forms, independent of eye pressure reduction.
• The findings challenge the long-standing focus on intraocular pressure as the primary therapeutic target and suggest metabolic neuroprotection as a promising alternative.