New laser therapy to improve vision

Melbourne researchers are about to embark on an international clinical trial for a new world-first laser therapy, offering hope for the hundreds of thousands of Australians at risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

AMD is the leading cause of central vision loss in people over the age of 50 years in Australia, with one in seven Australians over 50 years showing signs of the disease.

Researchers from the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) are attempting to halt the progression of AMD in its early stage, before it progresses to the vision-threatening late stage, using an Australian designed and built ‘nanosecond laser’.

The laser, created by Ellex Medical Lasers, emits a tiny pulse of energy into the back of the eye, to remove the deposits that build up with age and contribute to AMD.

Malcolm Plunkett, executive director of Ellex, explains this nanosecond laser is part of a new wave of lasers that can treat areas of the eye previously considered too delicate for laser treatment.

Lead investigator, Professor Robyn Guymer, conducted a pilot study of the nanosecond laser in 2010 to 2012.

“The results were encouraging so we have decided to conduct a much larger proof of principle randomised trial. Patients reported that the laser treatment was completely painless. A few even wondered when the treatment was going to start, when it was actually already over,” Professor Guymer says.

Researchers are now seeking volunteers with early-stage AMD for the next phase of the clinical trial, which will start recruiting in Melbourne and Sydney, and will then commence at sites outside Australia in 2013.

“We’re looking for people who have gone along for routine eye checks, or those who have had an eye check because of a family history of AMD and been told by their ophthalmologist or optometrist that they have the start of AMD,” she says.

Professor Guymer warns this treatment is not suitable for people who had already developed the advanced form of AMD, either the dry or the wet types of AMD, which will have already threatened vision.

If you wish to participate in the trial, speak to your eye care professional and ask for your details to be forwarded to Professor Guymer’s team at the Centre for Eye Research Australia http://www.cera.org.au/contact-us. Alternatively, you can call (03) 9929 8373 to leave your details.