Dry AMD patients may benefit from blue-light filtering

A study recently published in the European Journal of Ophthalmology found that patients with dry age-related macular degeneration may benefit from blue-light filtering intraocular lenses (IOLs) after cataract surgery. The blue-light filtering lenses were found to lessen or even stop the progression of the atrophic form of dry AMD after cataract surgery. Researchers evaluated data that had been collected from AMD patients and included 66 eyes from 40 patients. Blue filtering IOLs had been used in 27 eyes and 39 eyes were treated with the non-blue filtering IOLs. What researchers discovered was a significant difference in the geographic atrophy progression between the two groups. The study results authenticate the photoprotective role of blue filter IOLs in stopping or lessening the progression to the atrophic form after cataract surgery. Researchers note that more studies will be needed to test the visual performance of blue-light filtering IOLs as well as their effectiveness in the other forms of macular degeneration and other macular diseases.*