A pilot study of LumiThera’s Valeda Light Delivery System, a photobiomodulation (PBM) device for the treatment of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), has demonstrated significant improvements in visual acuity.
Fifteen subjects with dry AMD and a mean age of 75 years each received nine treatments over three weeks. At one month, multi-luminance electroretinogram (ERG) magnitude AUC (area under the ROC Curve) improved by 14.1% and at six months there was a 12.8 ± 0.98 letter improvement in best-corrected visual acuity. Improvements in Mars contrast sensitivity were also observed. No safety issues were reported.
PBM is currently used in physiotherapy, arthritis, wound repair and sports medicine. In the context of dry AMD, LumiThera said the targeted tissue absorbs photons, resulting in increases in energy production and changes in signalling modalities such as reactive oxygen species, nitric oxide and cellular calcium. The activation of transcription factors leads to protein synthesis, proliferation and ultimately improved cell survival.
