{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T20:01:31Z","timestamp":1792094491310,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":58,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,11]],"date-time":"2025-06-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1749600000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Purpose: To review the role of prophylactic panmacular laser treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Method: A narrative review of studies employing laser treatment for non-exudative (\u201cdry\u201d) AMD listed in the PubMed database. Results: In multiple published studies, macular laser treatment that causes laser-induced retinal damage (LIRD) has shown either no overall benefit or has accelerated disease progression and vision loss in eyes with dry AMD, particularly in high-risk eyes with more severe pre-treatment disease. Conversely, other studies, including randomized and matched propensity-scored real-world-data (RWD) clinical studies, indicate that avoidance of LIRD may allow laser to be used safely and effectively to prevent vision loss from AMD by slowing disease progression and preventing neovascular conversion without adverse treatment effects, benefiting the highest-risk eyes most. Conclusions: AMD is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss worldwide. Current evidence suggests that laser prophylaxis for dry AMD may hold great promise in preventing age-related vision loss. More studies, especially prospective clinical trials, from more investigators, are needed. If current evidence is confirmed, laser prophylaxis would rise to a preeminent position as the safest, most effective, and most economical and accessible approach to reducing vision loss from AMD.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14124157","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,11]],"date-time":"2025-06-11T11:18:40Z","timestamp":1749640720000},"page":"4157","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Laser Prophylaxis for Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Current Evidence"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4475-3237","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jeffrey K.","family":"Luttrull","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Ventura County Retina Vitreous Medical Group, 3160 Telegraph Rd., Suite 230, Ventura, CA 93003, USA"},{"name":"LIGHT: The International Retinal Laser Society, 10580 Wilshire Blvd. #88, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8994-3499","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stephen H.","family":"Sinclair","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LIGHT: The International Retinal Laser Society, 10580 Wilshire Blvd. #88, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA"},{"name":"Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19027, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Igor","family":"Kozak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LIGHT: The International Retinal Laser Society, 10580 Wilshire Blvd. #88, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA"},{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85711, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"GBD 2019 Blindness and Vision Impairment Collaborators, and Vision Loss Expert Group of the Global Burden of Disease Study (2021). 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