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Study: Laser not effective as prophylaxis in dry AMD

Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging. 2009;40(6):530-538.

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Prophylactic laser therapy was not effective in reducing risk of neovascularization or preserving vision in patients with dry age-related macular degeneration, according to a study.

In the Prophylactic Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (PTAMD) study, 639 eyes of 639 patients with at least five drusen of 63 µm or more in diameter presenting bilaterally were treated with placement of an annular grid of 48 extrafoveal, subthreshold 810-nm diode laser applications. The fellow eye of each patient was followed as a control.

At 24 months, treated eyes had modestly better visual acuity — a 1.5 letter difference — but the difference did not persist to the end of the study at 3 years. Neovascularization occurred by the end of the study in 36 treated eyes (11%) and in 32 observed eyes (9%).

"Considering both the PTAMD study and CAPT findings, laser treatment in its current form is an ineffective method of CNV prophylaxis and we discourage the use of current laser treatment protocols for most patients with bilateral high-risk drusen," the study authors said.