Red Light Therapy for Macular Degeneration (AMD): Scientific Evidence

20.3% of treated eyes gained 5 or more letters on an eye chart against 8.9% on sham in a 2024 clinical trial of dry macular degeneration (AMD). The 152 eyes of 76 people received 590 and 630 nm light in 12-minute sessions 8 times over 4 weeks. Sharpness of vision favored the treated group, the thickness of the central retina did not change, and about 1 in 5 treated patients reported mild, short-lived eye discomfort.

A growing body of positive studies supported light therapy across eye diseases, according to a broad 2024 review covering 1899 patients including those with macular degeneration (AMD). The studies it surveyed used light from about 590 to 850 nm at 5 to 350 mW/cm², in sessions of 35 seconds to 15 minutes. It traced photobiomodulation (PBM) from laboratory work to clinical use and noted a favorable safety record. The review concluded that the biological basis was sound and called for more trials across conditions.

2024 brought a randomized controlled trial of a wearable device of tiny LEDs built into eyeglasses for severe dry macular degeneration (AMD). Patients had 10 sessions of 10 minutes each with 620 to 780 nm light, while a matched group wore the glasses switched off. The treated group's central vision and mapped retinal light sensitivity appeared to improve, even though retinal scans showed no structural change, and no safety problems appeared.

Researchers in Brazil reviewed LED photobiomodulation (PBM) for retinal diseases including macular degeneration (AMD), drawing on 202 patients. The work it drew on used 670 nm light in 88-second sessions at 50 mW/cm² and 4 J/cm², given 9 times over 3 weeks. The 2024 review reported that red and near-infrared light can reach the retina and help its cells produce energy. It described the approach as promising and free of adverse effects across the animal and human work examined.

100 people with dry macular degeneration (AMD) who received multiwavelength light gained more sharpness of vision than the sham did in the 2024 LIGHTSITE III randomized controlled trial. The 148 eyes were given 590, 660, and 850 nm light in a 9-session series every 4 months over 2 years. Real light came out about 2.4 letters ahead of sham on an eye chart, fewer treated eyes developed new patches of lost retina, and the safety record was favorable.

Applying multiwavelength light to eyes with large soft deposits under the retina, a 2023 clinical trial followed 20 such eyes in macular degeneration (AMD). Patients had 590, 660, and 850 nm light twice a week for 5 weeks, with checks at 6 months. The trial reported that sharpness of vision improved by about 5.5 letters on an eye chart and the deposits thinned, while patches of lost retina grew slightly and 1 eye developed a tear in the retina's support layer.

A multicenter randomized design assigned eyes to real or sham multiwavelength light in the 2023 LIGHTSITE II randomized controlled trial of dry macular degeneration (AMD). 44 people had 53 eyes treated with 590, 660, and 850 nm light 3 times a week in repeated 9-session series. The treated eyes appeared to gain about 4 letters on an eye chart by 9 months, and their patches of lost retina grew about 20% less than on sham, though that difference did not reach significance.

45 people with Stargardt disease, an inherited form of macular degeneration (AMD), took part in a 2022 clinical trial of photobiomodulation (PBM). Each had both eyes treated with 650 nm light for 10 minutes twice a day, 5 days a week, for a year. Sharpness of vision and the retina's electrical response improved after 12 months, and early electrical gains appeared to predict the later vision gains.

A 2021 review surveyed near-infrared light therapy for eye diseases including macular degeneration (AMD). The studies it surveyed used light spanning roughly 600 to 1000 nm. It reported that red and near-infrared light can penetrate eye and nerve tissue and help their cells make more energy. The review presented the approach as promising across several conditions, macular degeneration among them.

Among 10 people with dry macular degeneration (AMD), a 2021 clinical trial tested 670 nm photobiomodulation (PBM). Each eye received 88-second sessions at 50 mW/cm² and 4 J/cm², 9 times over 3 weeks, held about 0.79 inches away. Sharpness of vision and the mapped light sensitivity of the retina both appeared to improve, and no adverse effects or scan abnormalities showed up over follow-up.

Comparing photobiomodulation (PBM) against a sham, a 2020 randomized controlled trial tested multiwavelength light for dry macular degeneration (AMD) in 30 people. The 46 treated eyes received 590, 660, and 850 nm light for about 4 minutes per session, in two series of 9 sessions across a year. Researchers found that about half of the treated group gained 5 or more letters on an eye chart against 14% on sham, alongside better contrast and fewer retinal deposits. No device-related adverse effects were reported.

Sharpness of vision rose by about 6 letters on an eye chart after treatment in a 2017 clinical trial of photobiomodulation (PBM) for dry macular degeneration (AMD). 24 people had 42 eyes treated with yellow, red, and near-infrared light at 590, 670, and 790 nm for 35 to 96 seconds a session over 3 weeks. The gain held at 3 months and the deposits under the retina shrank, while the ability to tell apart shades of light and dark also appeared to improve.

203 patients averaging 63 years of age, 90 men and 113 women, with early or advanced macular degeneration (AMD) took part in a 2008 clinical trial of low-level laser therapy (LLLT). A 780 nm laser was aimed through the surface of the eye at the central retina for 40 seconds per session, 4 times across 2 weeks at 0.3 J/cm² per session, while 10 patients received a mock treatment as controls. The trial found that sharpness of vision improved in about 95% of treated eyes and held for 3 to 36 months, while the control group did not change. No adverse effects were reported during the therapy.

Across 5 years of follow-up, a 2025 observational study tracked how red light affected vision in 163 people with macular degeneration (AMD) in Ukraine and Moldova. Treated eyes received 650 nm light in 5-minute sessions over the period. Treated eyes appeared to lose vision more slowly across the 5 years, though the observational design leaves the size of the effect uncertain.

A 2025 review of new dry macular degeneration (AMD) treatments placed light therapy alongside drug, gene, and cell-repair approaches. The light-based methods it reviewed used 635, 670, and 810 nm light. It noted that light-based methods may give retinal cells more energy to work with, while standard supplements slow but cannot reverse damage. The review judged the newer options promising but still in need of long-term trials.

6 eyes of 5 people with advanced dry macular degeneration (AMD), where patches of the retina had wasted away, took part in a small 2025 observational study of multiwavelength photobiomodulation (PBM). Their eyes received 590, 660, and 850 nm light 9 times over 3 weeks, with checks at 1 and 3 months. The study reported that sharpness of vision, the thickness of the central retina, the retina's mapped light sensitivity, and the area of lost retina all stayed stable, with no eye developing new loss at the very center. A scan signal thought to track the retinal cells' energy activity rose by 4.89% at 1 month and 17.11% at 3 months, and no side effects were reported.

When researchers followed 38 people with early or moderate macular degeneration (AMD) after multiwavelength light, a 2024 clinical trial found the benefit did not last. Each had one eye treated with 590, 660, and 850 nm light 9 times over 3 weeks, with checks out to 6 months. Sharpness of vision, low-light vision, and contrast all improved by 3 months but slipped back toward starting levels by 6 months, and 2 people developed the wet form of the disease.

3 randomized trials with 247 eyes between them made up a 2024 meta-analysis of photobiomodulation (PBM) for dry macular degeneration (AMD). The trials it pooled used 590, 660, and 850 nm light over courses of about 270 to 390 days. Pooled together, real light improved sharpness of vision by under 2 letters on an eye chart and slightly reduced retinal deposits against sham. The analysis judged these gains statistically real but too small to matter clinically, and rated every included trial at high risk of bias.

No firm answer on whether light therapy slows macular degeneration (AMD) emerged from a 2023 narrative review of 767 patients. The studies it pooled used red and near-infrared light from 590 to 850 nm at 0.6 to 80 mW/cm², in sessions of 35 seconds to 3 minutes given 4 to 54 times per week. Across the studies it pooled, gains in sharpness of vision and contrast appeared in some reports and little effect in others. The review concluded that whether photobiomodulation (PBM) clears retinal deposits or slows advanced disease remained uncertain.

A 2022 observational study followed 5 people with macular degeneration (AMD) whose eyes carried deposits above the retina, treated with 590, 660, and 850 nm light. Each eye had sessions twice a week for 6 weeks, with imaging before and 6 months after. Sharpness of vision stayed about the same, but the more advanced deposits became fewer while earlier-stage ones grew more common, a shift the study read as a possible early change.

Published in 2021, this review drew on 575 patients to weigh photobiomodulation (PBM) for macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetes-related retinal damage. The studies it drew on applied light from 590 to 850 nm at 5 to 200 mW/cm² and 4.5 to 9 J/cm², in sessions of 40 seconds to 20 minutes. The authors concluded that certain patients at moderate stages of AMD responded to treatment, while results from major trials were still pending. They described the therapy as emerging and called for high-quality studies using standard devices.

According to a 2021 meta-analysis, 2 randomized trials with 90 people between them had tested photobiomodulation (PBM) for dry macular degeneration (AMD). The trials it pooled used light from 505 to 850 nm at 0.1 to 65 mW/cm², in sessions from 40 seconds to several hours given 2 to 9 times per week. The meta-analysis found the evidence too limited and too mixed to say whether the therapy slows the disease. Its authors called for further trials that measure both benefit and safety.

In 2021, a review examined photobiomodulation (PBM) for macular degeneration (AMD) across the small set of clinical studies then available, covering 857 patients. The studies it pooled delivered red and near-infrared light from 590 to 850 nm at 0.6 to 80 mW/cm², in sessions of 35 seconds to about 4 minutes given 3 to 18 times per week, over courses up to 720 days. According to the review, the therapy showed potential to improve sharpness of vision and contrast and to reduce retinal deposits, though results varied and the best settings were unclear. It traced the evidence back to the first report in 2008 and called for larger, better-controlled work.

A 2021 review of emerging treatments for dry macular degeneration (AMD) weighed photobiomodulation (PBM) among newer non-drug options, drawing on data from 1948 patients. The light-therapy studies it drew on used 590, 660, and 850 nm light given about 3 times per week. It reported that early light-therapy studies pointed to gains in vision and reductions in retinal deposits. The authors judged the evidence promising but not yet conclusive.

Whether 670 nm light helps aging eyes and macular degeneration (AMD) alike was tested in a 2020 clinical trial of 35 people. Each received 2 minutes of red light a day for a year, and the main measure was how long the eyes took to regain sight in the dark. In healthy older eyes that time grew shorter, but in eyes with AMD it did not, so the benefit appeared limited to eyes without the disease.

This 2018 review examined how photobiomodulation (PBM) might act on the retina's support layer in macular degeneration (AMD). The studies it examined used red and near-infrared light from about 590 to 1000 nm at 3.9 to 90 mW/cm² and 0.1 to 9 J/cm², in sessions of 35 seconds to about 4 minutes given 4 to 9 times per week. It described the therapy as easing the cell stress and mitochondrial problems thought to drive the disease. The review reported that clinical studies had shown positive changes in vision and retinal structure, but cautioned that most lacked a proper comparison group.

No significant gain in sharpness of vision from photobiomodulation (PBM) showed up in a 2025 meta-analysis of dry macular degeneration (AMD). The trials it pooled used light from 505 to 850 nm in sessions up to 10 minutes, given 2 to 10 times per week. It pooled 6 studies with 360 patients and 477 eyes, finding wide variation between them. The authors concluded that, so far, the therapy shows no clear clinical benefit and called for longer trials.