Moorfields study to compare treatments

Quality of life following laser treatment for glaucoma is to be compared with outcomes from traditional eye drop therapies in a new £1.7m study at Moorfields Eye Hospital.

The laser in glaucoma and ocular hypertension (LIGHT) study will assess whether laser treatment would provide a better quality of life than traditional eye drops if laser was the first form of treatment offered.

It will involve more than 700 patients who have been newly diagnosed with glaucoma and have received no prior treatment.

One group will be treated initially with selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) before moving to eye drops later as necessary, while a second group will use eye drops from the outset. Quality of life will be assessed every year for three years using a questionnaire.