Patients with dry macular degeneration (dry MD) may be one step closer to a treatment with an LT-300 light delivery system developed by American company LumiThera. Althought this treatment is in its very early trial stage it is news worth sharing.

This device uses photobiomodulation (PBM), which involves noninvasive lightemitting diodes for the treatment of ocular diseases. “LumiThera can begin commercialisation in European sites which coincides with the LIGHTSITE II Clinical Study in the upcoming months,” said Dr. Clark Tedford, LumiThera President and CEO. “We are excited to be able to offer a safe and effective early stage clinical intervention for patients with dry AMD.”

“It is very exciting to see the development of PBM treatment for dry AMD patients,” said Dr. Samuel Markowitz, Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, University of Toronto. “These patients have limited options and losing their central vision is horribly debilitating to their quality of life. Previous studies showed PBM therapy was most beneficial in early stage dry AMD patients. It was also determined that retreatments will be needed to maintain clinical benefits.”

“PBM may change the way we think about treating dry AMD,” said Dr. Robert Devenyi, University of Toronto. “Until now we just waited and watched the patients lose vision with limited options. Now we may have a treatment that can target improvement in visual outcomes and reduce a key component of the pathology. The next step is to confirm the early results in the multi-center LIGHTSITE II trial and work with the ophthalmology medical community in establishing best treatment practices.”

Macular Disease Foundation Australia CEO Dee Hopkins cautions that more research is required. “Researchers are working hard to develop treatments for patients with dry AMD” said Ms. Hopkins. "While the initial results showed some improvement in a small sample of patients, we can’t draw too many conclusions at this stage. Further well conducted research is necessary.”