Emerging research on non-neovascular age-related macular degeneration treatments

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common condition that causes vision impairment in the elderly, significantly impacting their physical and psychosocial well-being. Historically, treatment options to slow or prevent atrophic AMD progression have been limited but are recently increasing in number. This scoping review aims to provide an overview of the research (both preclinical and clinical) on non-neovascular AMD (including early, intermediate, and geographic atrophy) treatments published in the past decade. Our study protocol was prospectively registered on the Open Science Framework.Searches were conducted on MEDLINE, Embase, ProQuest, and CINAHL for studies investigating treatments for atrophic AMD (including early, intermediate, and geographic atrophy stages) published between 1 January 2014 and 14 July 2024, the search date. Data screening, full-text review, and extraction were independently performed by two researchers. Study characteristics and outcomes were summarised, and the results were synthesised narratively. The search identified 1,211 studies, of which 132 were included in this review. Studies were most often conducted in the United States (n = 92, 68.7%) or Europe (n = 25, 18.5%) and most frequently investigated antioxidant or anti-inflammatory treatments (n = 30, 22.7%) or complement pathway inhibitors (n = 25, 18.9%) as potential therapies. Over three quarters (n = 101, 76.5%) of the included studies reported positive outcomes. Across the decade, the number of studies published increased at an annual rate of 24.0%.This review highlights the growing body of research on atrophic AMD treatments over the past decade, with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory treatments emerging as prominent, promising avenues. However, more phase III human clinical trials are needed to ensure that future therapies effectively serve the global AMD population.