A recent study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology evaluated the impact of blue-light intraocular lenses (IOLs) on the development and progression of macular atrophy in patients with wet AMD. The findings revealed that participants who received blue-light filtering IOLs did not experience a lower incidence of macular atrophy compared to those who received nonfiltering IOLs, but blue-blocking IOLs were linked to a slower progression rate of macular atrophy over an 8-year follow-up period.

The study involved 373 eyes from 373 wet AMD patients (mean age 78.6 at the time of surgery, 67.4% female) who received anti-VEGF injections and underwent cataract surgery without complications. Among them, 206 eyes were implanted with blue-light filtering IOLs, while 167 received standard IOLs. The researchers concluded that, “The results suggest that filtering the shorter wavelengths of light using BLF-IOLs could provide protection against macular atrophy progression. Further research is warranted to examine whether these findings can be generalized to a non-nAMD cohort as well.”