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Valeda Treatment
Revolutionary Valeda Light Therapy for Dry Macular Degeneration.
The Director of Nethercott Opticians and Principal Optometrist at Moorfields Eye Hospital introduces cutting-edge Valeda Light Therapy to support patients with Dry Macular Degeneration.
Increasing gain of contrast sensitivity going down and across the red arrows.
The right picture has the view with increased contrast sensitivity. Macular degeneration reduces contrast sensitivity.
The below video shows the mechanism of treatment delivery.
There is improvement in contrast sensitivity with Valeda light therapy which helps you see clearly in the everyday environment. This helps define margins between light and dark borders. Patients with better contrast sensitivity will read further down on this chart below but what does this mean for visual gain in real life? Well, it would enable patients to see the golf ball better while playing down the course, see better driving on cloudy days or at night, or even just simply navigating through the Sky TV menu more confidently. Ultimately the tasks that normally sighted people take for granted.
Circles indicate waste material decline shown as drusen volume reduction over 13 months of therapy.
Here are the statically significant visual acuity results from the same study in a bar chart. The treated group PBM on average gained vision over the sham (low dose light exposure) and definitely over those not treated with any light. The pertinant question here is which group would you rather be in, the do nothing approach (which we currently adopt) does not look attractive in comparison.
Light therapy or Photobiomodulation has been widely accepted in medicine, sports therapy and cosmetics to help with cellular function to date. It is used to manage pain, inflammation and sometimes wrinkles. I imagine your interest may have peaked a little more there with my last words. Yes, red light does stimulate collagen and protein formation to help regenerate skin. Similar forms of this therapy can help with blepharitis, dry eyes and inflammation of the skin such as Rosacea.
The reason why I was so keen to bring in this technology to Tadworth was because I wanted to help our numerous patients with dry macular degeneration to maintain their level of vision and sustain quality of life. When I discovered that the College of Ophthalmologist president Professor Ben Burton led the LIGHTSITE phase 2 trials and currently provides such treatment, my focus became unwavering on this topic. To date there is no proven cure for dry macular degeneration, but the LIGHTSITE 3 trials offers great promise for limiting the progression of the disease. This modest but robust research publication (from renowned ophthalmologists in this field) indicates that patients on average often gain a line of letters on treatment and have a reduction of waste material termed as drusen, at the macular (see Fig 1 below). This build-up of waste leads directly to visual loss and occasionally wet macular degeneration. The untreated groups in comparison tended to lose letters on the vision chart.
During my practice, I often felt despondent when I imparted bad news about reducing vision and sometimes advised patients that they had now failed to meet the legal driving standard with no other offer of ophthalmic recovery from this macular condition. Robbing individuals of independence is not a pleasant conversation. I am pleased to say that we can now change the narrative. It is without a doubt that further larger longitudinal studies are imperative to add more evidence to these findings (which are ongoing) but I have witnessed enough encouraging evidence to facilitate such therapy into our practice. Pioneering colleagues have been using this therapy for 5 years now and report good outcomes. Valeda safety profile is second to none with no adverse events in 23,000 patients undergoing commercial treatments. It makes sense to me, to boost the power to the macular cells so that they can clear the waste build-up (drusen), this in turn helps maintain vision. It’s like housekeeping of the very central macular region. Here is some of the science in graphic form, as they say, a picture paints a thousand words.
Light therapy or Photobiomodulation has been widely accepted in medicine, sports therapy and cosmetics to help with cellular function to date. It is used to manage pain, inflammation and sometimes wrinkles. I imagine your interest may have peaked a little more there with my last words. Yes, red light does stimulate collagen and protein formation to help regenerate skin. Similar forms of this therapy can help with blepharitis, dry eyes and inflammation of the skin such as Rosacea.
The reason why I was so keen to bring in this technology to Tadworth was because I wanted to help our numerous patients with dry macular degeneration to maintain their level of vision and sustain quality of life. When I discovered that the College of Ophthalmologist president Professor Ben Burton led the LIGHTSITE phase 2 trials and currently provides such treatment, my focus became unwavering on this topic. To date there is no proven cure for dry macular degeneration, but the LIGHTSITE 3 trials offers great promise for limiting the progression of the disease. This modest but robust research publication (from renowned ophthalmologists in this field) indicates that patients on average often gain a line of letters on treatment and have a reduction of waste material termed as drusen, at the macular (see Fig 1 below). This build-up of waste leads directly to visual loss and occasionally wet macular degeneration. The untreated groups in comparison tended to lose letters on the vision chart.
During my practice, I often felt despondent when I imparted bad news about reducing vision and sometimes advised patients that they had now failed to meet the legal driving standard with no other offer of ophthalmic recovery from this macular condition. Robbing individuals of independence is not a pleasant conversation. I am pleased to say that we can now change the narrative. It is without a doubt that further larger longitudinal studies are imperative to add more evidence to these findings (which are ongoing) but I have witnessed enough encouraging evidence to facilitate such therapy into our practice. Pioneering colleagues have been using this therapy for 5 years now and report good outcomes. Valeda safety profile is second to none with no adverse events in 23,000 patients undergoing commercial treatments. It makes sense to me, to boost the power to the macular cells so that they can clear the waste build-up (drusen), this in turn helps maintain vision. It’s like housekeeping of the very central macular region. Here is some of the science in graphic form, as they say, a picture paints a thousand words.
Circles indicate waste material decline shown as drusen volume reduction over 13 months of therapy.
Here are the statically significant visual acuity results from the same study in a bar chart. The treated group PBM on average gained vision over the sham (low dose light exposure) and definitely over those not treated with any light. The pertinant question here is which group would you rather be in, the do nothing approach (which we currently adopt) does not look attractive in comparison.
There is improvement in contrast sensitivity with Valeda light therapy which helps you see clearly in the everyday environment. This helps define margins between light and dark borders. Patients with better contrast sensitivity will read further down on this chart below but what does this mean for visual gain in real life? Well, it would enable patients to see the golf ball better while playing down the course, see better driving on cloudy days or at night, or even just simply navigating through the Sky TV menu more confidently. Ultimately the tasks that normally sighted people take for granted.
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Increasing gain of contrast sensitivity going down and across the red arrows.
The right picture has the view with increased contrast sensitivity. Macular degeneration reduces contrast sensitivity.
The below video shows the mechanism of treatment delivery.
Valeda Light Therapy is most effective for individuals with early to moderate dry macular degeneration. While there is some anecdotal evidence suggesting that advanced cases may also see benefits, each patient will be assessed individually based on their clinical history.
For those with wet macular degeneration, this therapy may serve as a supplementary treatment; however, primary management still requires injection therapy at a hospital. While Valeda does not increase the likelihood of wet macular degeneration developing, it also cannot prevent its progression.
3 appears to be the magic number from the original studies. The treatment requires 3 treatments per week and this is done for 3 weeks consecutively. This is termed one cycle and this is performed 3 times a year in total. Treatment visits will last about 15-20 minutes and light exposure will be under 5 minutes per eye at each sitting.
New data, however, shows that doing 2 treatments per week over 5 weeks is equally beneficial. We can adopt this method and introduce a break for 1 week if required within the treatment cycle if required (after all we all need a holiday sometimes).
No, Valeda Light Therapy will not impact your glasses prescription or contact lens fitting. Your vision correction needs will remain unchanged following treatment.
Valeda Light Therapy is not recommended for individuals with epilepsy. Those who experience photosensitivity or migraines triggered by glare should proceed with caution. Additionally, patients should avoid taking any photosensitizing medications for at least one month before and after treatment.
Yes, Valeda Light Therapy can safely be used alongside eye vitamin supplements. In fact, maintaining a healthy diet and taking appropriate supplements, as recommended by your optometrist, may help support overall eye health and complement the effects of the treatment.
The 3 year study shows that those that continually had the treatment in this period did the best in terms of vision and macular appearance. Further data also indicates that any breaks from the treatment will depreciate vision but this can be recovered by starting the treatment again. So stopping starting is not necessarily an ultra bad thing, but continued treatment is optimum.
Yes, I actively monitor patients with early-stage dry macular degeneration to detect any signs of progression. Once I am confident that changes are occurring, I will recommend starting treatment to help manage drusen buildup and slow the condition’s advancement.
I am excited to offer this innovative approach to maintaining macular health and would be happy to discuss the treatment further. Feel free to reach out by phone or schedule a formal consultation to address any additional questions you may have.
A three or 5 week cycle of nine treatments costs £1200 for 2 eyes
Annual cost with three cycles of treatment costs £3600
(Similar treatments for one eye only comes out at £900)
Please phone us on 01737813600 for more information or to book the initial consultation. Alternatively make contact through the website, or come into the practice to meet us.
Paula Ieong FBDO
Dispensing Optician
Valeda Treatment Specialist
Article written by Alvin Ieong
MSc. MCOptom. Dip Tp(IP). ProfCertGlau
Principal Optometrist in Glaucoma and Contact Lenses
Director at Nethercott Opticians
Paula Ieong FBDO
Dispensing Optician
Valeda Treatment Specialist
Paula Ieong
Article written by Alvin Ieong
MSc. MCOptom. Dip Tp(IP). ProfCertGlau
Principal Optometrist in Glaucoma and Contact Lenses
Director at Nethercott Opticians
It is always a pleasure to go to Moorfields private Mr Alvin is an excellent doctor very pleasant and a great professional.
Verified Patient - 07/04/25
Alvin leong is an outstanding opthalmic optician with huge expertise in contact lenses. He always exhibits the utmost professionalism, and is thorough and detailed in his patient evaluation. I feel extraordinarily fortunate to be under his care.
Verified Patient - 08/11/24
This was my third visit to Moorfields Private Eye Hospital in as many years. The contact lens prescriptions I have received from Mr Alvin leong have been the best in all the time that I have been wearing contact lenses.
Verified Patient - 12/04/24