New Study Shows Central Vision Restoration in Patients with Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Clinical trial results recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine show that a wireless retinal implant can restore central vision in patients with an advanced type of atrophic age-related macular degeneration known as geographic atrophy.

José-Alain Sahel, MD, distinguished professor and chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and director of the UPMC Vision Institute, co-led an international, multi-center clinical trial with colleagues Daniel Palanker, PhD, professor of ophthalmology at Stanford University, and Frank Holz, MD, professor of ophthalmology at the University of Bonn, Germany. This multicenter study follows two pilot studies conducted in Dr. Sahel’s departments in Paris and Pittsburgh.

The retina is the thin layer at the back of the eye that transforms light into pulses of electricity, then sends them through the optic nerve to the brain, allowing us to see. The macula is the central part of the retina, responsible for central vision and the ability to see fine details. In geographic atrophy (GA), a late stage of age-related macular degeneration, the light-sensitive cells in the macula have died. People with GA experience central vision loss and typically have trouble driving, reading, doing hobbies, and recognizing faces.

The PRIMAvera trial enrolled 38 patients aged 60 and older across France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom and utilized the PRIMA system, which Dr. Palanker originally designed. The system combines a wireless implant and special glasses that restore the flow of visual information to the brain. In the study, of the 32 participants who completed 12 months of follow-up, 26 achieved clinically meaningful improvements in visual acuity. On average, participants improved by 25 letters – about five lines – on a standard eye chart when using the device, meaning they could see much finer print than before.

While the ability to fully restore vision with the implant alone is unlikely, Dr. Sahel and his colleagues are now investigating additional approaches that could further improve quality of life and take patients above the threshold for legal blindness.

“Ultimately we aim to improve quality of life for our patients,” says Dr. Sahel. “This trial gets us one step closer to finding durable solutions to do just that.”