A new analysis of 6-year results from the Laser in Glaucoma and Ocular Hypertension (LiGHT) trial showed that in glaucoma patients treated with selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT), progression of disease was slowed by 29% compared with topical medications. The findings, presented by lead researcher Giovanni Montesano, MD, PhD, of Moorfields Eye Hospital, London at the AAO 2024 meeting over the weekend, compared SLT with eyedrops as a first-line treatment in patients recently diagnosed with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The chief investigator was Gus Gazzard, MBBChir, MA, MD, FRCOphth.

“Selective laser trabeculoplasty should not only be considered an effective and safe alternative to medications as a first-line treatment for primary open-angle glaucoma but can also offer an advantage in reducing vision loss,” said Dr. Montesano in a press release. “Since the first study, we developed an improved statistical technique to calculate the rate of progression of the Mean Deviation. This improved methodology, together with the longer follow-up, prompted us to test again the previously observed differences between the SLT-1st and the Medication-1st arms of the LiGHT trial.”