Red Light Therapy for Central Serous Chorioretinopathy (CSCR): Scientific Evidence

Across 10 eyes from 9 patients with long-standing central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR), a 2026 retrospective observational study evaluated photobiomodulation (PBM). The patients, whose average age was about 45, received PBM at 590 and 625 nm and 25 and 55 mW/cm² in 12-minute sessions from about 0.39 to 1.18 inches away, once a week for 4 weeks and then monthly for 2 more months. The fluid beneath the retina appeared to clear completely in 70% of eyes, partly in 10%, and not at all in the remaining 20%, while average eye-chart scores rose from about 67 to 78 letters, a statistically significant improvement. Among 5 eyes with a blister-like lifting of the retina's support layer, 2 cleared, 1 partly regressed, and 2 were unchanged. No adverse events were reported.

Sharpness of vision improved from 20/80 to 20/25 in a 55-year-old man with chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR), in a 2025 observational study of photobiomodulation (PBM). He received PBM to the affected eye at 590, 625, and 630 nm in 12-minute sessions, given once a week for 4 weeks and then every 2 weeks for 2 months, with follow-up continuing to 12 months. A large blister-like lifting of the retina's support layer flattened by 3 months and, along with the fluid beneath the retina, appeared to have fully cleared by 12 months. The treatment was described as safe.

A 39-year-old woman with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) took part in a 2024 observational study of multiwavelength photobiomodulation (PBM). She received 9 sessions over 3 to 5 weeks at 590, 660, and 850 nm to the affected eye, with a further course about 6 months later and follow-up lasting roughly 1 year. The report found that her score on a standard eye chart declined from 65 to 55 letters during observation, then rose to 80 letters after the full course as the fluid beneath the retina cleared completely. Her vision then stayed stable at the roughly 6-month and 1-year checks.