Red light therapy for eye inflammation: For people managing chronic dry eye, blepharitis, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, or other inflammation-driven eye conditions, PBM has emerged as a non-invasive way to support the cellular environment of the eye alongside conventional care.
Photobiomodulation (PBM), also known as low-level laser therapy, is an emerging therapeutic modality in ophthalmology for its potential to manage a variety of ocular conditions. PBM employs low-energy light within the red and near-infrared spectrum. This interaction is believed to enhance mitochondrial function, boost adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production, and reduce oxidative stress, leading to improved cellular repair and tissue regeneration.
670 nm PBM reduced central subfield thickness 42 μm and improved visual acuity in center-involved diabetic macular edema.
This pilot study aims to establish that treatment with near infrared light (NIR) reduces cystic macular oedema in patients with a retinal vein occlusion.
Over the past decade, more than 30 published studies have explored the value of PBM for ocular conditions.
In the past 20 years, experimental evidence has shown the benefit of PBM in increasing numbers of retinal and ophthalmic conditions. More recently, preclinical findings in ocular models have been translated to the clinic with promising results.
This systematic review and meta-analysis compares the complications and effects of photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy with sham treatment in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Methods: One eye of each participant was randomly assigned 1:1 to a 670-nm light-emitting PBM eye patch or an identical device emitting broad-spectrum white light at low power. Treatment was applied for 90 seconds twice daily for 4 months.
670 nm light therapy improves rod function in normal aging but may be less effective in intermediate AMD
This clinical trial evaluated multiwavelength photobiomodulation—primarily 670 nm (4–7.7 J/cm²), supplemented with 590 nm and 790 nm (0.1 J/cm²)—in patients with atrophic AMD. Across a 3-week treatment period, participants demonstrated reduced drusen volume, improved best-corrected visual acuity, and improved contrast sensitivity, with excellent tolerability and no significant adverse effects.
