Age‑related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common eye problem for older adults. About one‑third of people over 80 have it, and millions of Americans over 40 live with the disease.
Most people get the dry form of AMD. It grows slowly, but over time it can hurt the part of the eye that lets us see straight ahead. That makes reading, driving, and recognizing faces harder.
Doctors do not have many ways to stop dry AMD early. A new study from Aalto University suggests a different idea. Instead of fixing the eye after it is damaged, researchers want to help the eye protect and repair itself before serious harm happens.
The method uses a gentle burst of near‑infrared light. The light warms the back of the eye just a little, enough to trigger the eye’s natural repair tools without causing injury.
Helping Old Eye Cells Fight Back
Professor Ari Koskelainen explains that aging makes eye cells weaker. Weak cells cannot handle oxidative stress well. Oxygen radicals damage proteins, causing them to clump together. Fatty protein deposits called drusen then appear. Drusen are a key sign of dry AMD.
When drusen build up, they disturb the retina, especially the macula, which gives us sharp central vision.
Why a Little Heat Can Help
Heating the retina is tricky. The tissue must only rise a few degrees. If it gets hotter than 45 °C, it can be harmed. The researchers built a system that shines near‑infrared light while measuring temperature at the same time. This real‑time control keeps the heat inside a safe range.
The heat does not burn the eye. It acts like a mild stress signal. This signal tells cells to turn on protective programs that become weaker with age.
One of those programs makes heat‑shock proteins. These proteins help damaged proteins fold correctly again or break them down so the cell can recycle the parts.
Turning On the Cell’s Cleanup System
Another important program is autophagy – the cell’s waste‑removal system. In autophagy, a membrane wraps around unwanted material, and enzymes break it down. In dry AMD, clearing protein clumps could be very helpful.
"We showed that heat can start both heat‑shock proteins and autophagy," says Koskelainen. "It is like turning on a built‑in repair and cleanup crew."
Good Results in Animals, Next Step Is People
The team tested the technique in mice and pigs. The animals showed the expected protective response in their retinas.
Human trials are planned for Finland in spring 2026. The first round will check safety, not vision improvement. If it is safe, researchers will learn how often the treatment should be repeated.
Because the protective response fades after a few days, the therapy may need to be given regularly, like a maintenance schedule.
A Growing Field for Dry AMD
Dry AMD has long been called a disease with few treatment options, especially early on. That view is changing.
In the United States, the FDA has cleared a different light‑based device called the Valeda Light Delivery System for certain dry‑AMD patients. Valeda uses photobiomodulation, not controlled heating, to improve vision.
The Aalto method is still experimental. It will become a real option only if human trials prove it safe and effective.
From Lab to Eye Clinic
The study appeared in Nature Communications on 29 October 2025. The researchers are working with a startup named Maculaser to bring the technology to market.
"If everything goes well, eye clinics could use this treatment within three years," Koskelainen says. "One day it could be available at your local eye doctor."
For now, the idea looks promising in animals, and the first human tests will focus on safety. If later studies confirm the early findings, a brief, controlled laser heat burst could become a new way to help aging eyes protect themselves before vision loss takes hold.