Current Research & Treatment

Laser Therapy for "Wet AMD"
For nearly two decades, conventional laser therapy (usually employing an argon laser) has been a proven effective treatment for some patients with wet AMD. While the dry form of AMD is most common, only the neovascular or "wet" form can be treated with the laser (see What is Age-Related Macular Degeneration?). Studies indicate that about one in nine people with "wet" AMD are candidates for laser treatment when first examined by their ophthalmologist. About half might be expected to have prolonged benefit from the treatment. Newer methods of laser treatment designed to improve the success rate are being investigated. Studies continue to demonstrate the importance of prompt examination by an ophthalmologist if symptoms occur, since this increases the likelihood that treatment might be successfully carried out.

Laser Therapy for Drusen
Although laser therapy is well established for treating "wet" AMD, investigators in the United States, Australia, and Europe have been exploring its use in the early stages of AMD, usually before visual symptoms occur. With this treatment, very mild laser applications are applied to high-risk eyes with many deposits in the macula called "drusen" (see What is Age-Related Macular Degeneration?). After treatment, many of the drusen disappeared in a large proportion of eyes. This may reflect a beneficial effect on the tissues in the macula, and hopefully, a reduction in the later development of advanced AMD with vision loss.

A large multi-center study, sponsored by the National Eye Institute is being carried out at several eye centers in the United States, including the Casey Eye Institute (see Complications of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Prevention Trial (CAPT)). In this study, one eye is treated and the other eye is observed. Patients with large drusen and relatively good vision in both eyes were potentially eligible. Enrollment for this study is completed.

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