Gentle Heat, Bright Hope: A New Direction for Dry AMD Research

Age-related macular degeneration, often called AMD, is a common part of aging for many people. About one in three adults over age 80 has AMD, and roughly 20 million Americans age 40 and older are living with it.

Most people with AMD have the dry form. Dry AMD often moves slowly, but as time passes, it can affect central vision. That can make everyday activities such as reading, recognizing faces, driving, or looking directly at objects more difficult.

Even though dry AMD is widespread, early treatment choices remain limited. That is why new research from Aalto University is bringing welcome attention to a hopeful idea: helping eye cells protect and repair themselves before serious vision loss develops.

Supporting the Eye’s Natural Defenses

Rather than focusing on replacing damaged cells after the disease has advanced, the Aalto researchers are studying whether vulnerable retinal cells can be encouraged to strengthen their own built-in repair systems.

Their method uses near infrared light to deliver carefully controlled warmth to tissue at the back of the eye. The aim is not to burn, damage, or destroy tissue. Instead, the goal is to warm it gently enough to awaken natural protective processes.

Professor Ari Koskelainen explains that aging can weaken the eye’s defenses.

"Cellular functionality and protective mechanisms weaken with age, which exposes the fundus [the inside surface at the back of the eye] to intense oxidative stress," he explains. "Free oxygen radicals damage proteins, which causes them to misfold and aggregate, then fatty protein deposits called drusen begin to accumulate, which is the main diagnostic criterion for the dry form of age-related macular degeneration."

These fatty protein deposits, called drusen, are one of the key signs doctors look for when diagnosing dry AMD. As drusen collect, they can affect the retina and especially the macula, the area responsible for clear central vision.

The encouraging part of the Aalto approach is its timing. It is designed for the early diagnosis phase, when there may still be an opportunity to slow the disease process before major damage occurs.

Why a Little Warmth May Make a Big Difference

The retina is delicate, so warming it safely is a careful scientific challenge. The tissue needs to be heated by only a few degrees, and measuring temperature at the back of the eye is not easy. If the temperature rises above 45 degrees Celsius, damage can occur.

To make the process safer and more precise, the researchers created a system that uses near infrared light to warm the tissue while also monitoring the temperature in real time. That real-time control is central to the treatment, because the benefit depends on staying within a safe and helpful temperature range.

The mild heat acts like a beneficial stress signal. When cells experience this controlled heat shock, they may turn on protective systems that often weaken with age.

One important group of helpers is heat shock proteins. Cells produce these proteins under stress, and they can help damaged proteins return to their proper shape. If a protein cannot be repaired, the cell can break it down into amino acids so the material can be reused or cleared away.

Encouraging the Cell’s Cleanup Crew

Another important process is autophagy, a natural cleanup system inside cells. Yoshinori Ohsumi received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2016 for discoveries connected to autophagy.

Autophagy helps cells remove unwanted or damaged material. A membrane surrounds the material, and recognition proteins help guide enzymes that break it down. In dry AMD, this process could be especially valuable because protein buildup and cellular stress are major parts of the disease.

Koskelainen says the Aalto team saw both protective systems respond to the controlled heat.

"We were able to show that we can activate not only the production of the heat shock proteins, but also autophagy using the heat shocks. This process is like waste disposal," says Koskelainen.

That makes the research especially promising. The approach is not focused on just one part of the disease. It seeks to revive two of the cell’s own healthy survival tools: repair and cleanup.

Animal Studies Bring Promising Early Results

So far, the method has been tested in mice and pigs. In those studies, controlled heating successfully activated the desired protective responses in retinal tissue.

The next important step is human testing. Patient trials are expected to begin in Finland in spring 2026. The first phase will focus on safety rather than proving whether the treatment improves vision or slows AMD.

If the safety stage goes well, researchers will then study how often the treatment may need to be repeated.

"The treatment needs to be repetitive, since the response can already begin to decline some days after the treatment," Koskelainen says.

That means the method may not become a one-time procedure. If it proves successful in people, it could work more like an ongoing maintenance treatment that helps keep the eye’s protective systems active.

A Growing Wave of Innovation for Dry AMD

The Aalto work is part of a broader and encouraging shift in dry AMD research. For many years, dry AMD was known as a condition with few meaningful options, especially in its earlier stages. That picture is beginning to improve.

In the United States, the FDA has authorized the Valeda Light Delivery System, a separate light-based device for certain patients with dry AMD. Valeda uses photobiomodulation, not controlled retinal heating. FDA documents describe it as a prescription device intended to improve visual acuity in patients with certain forms of dry AMD who do not have center-involving geographic atrophy or neovascular maculopathy.

The Aalto treatment is still experimental. It will need human trial results before researchers know whether it is safe and effective for patients. Even so, the work fits into an exciting area of research where light-based therapies are receiving serious scientific attention.

From Research Discovery to Future Eye Care

The Aalto study was published in Nature Communications on October 29, 2025. The team is also working to commercialize the technology through a research-to-business startup called Maculaser.

Koskelainen sees a hopeful path ahead.

"An optimistic schedule would see the method already being used in hospital eye clinics in as little as three years' time," says Koskelainen. "The eventual goal is that it would be readily available at your local ophthalmologist."

For now, the treatment remains a promising possibility rather than a proven therapy. It has shown encouraging results in animal models, and the first human trials will focus on safety. If future studies confirm the early findings, carefully controlled laser warmth could one day help aging eyes strengthen their own defenses before vision loss takes hold.