Macular Degeneration Research

10/19/2026

🚨 Protect your home. Prepare for emergencies. Stay safe.

Tune in on Oct. 28 for a Macular Chat featuring Lt. Thomas Medeiros, a retired firefighter and EMT, who is legally blind from wet AMD.

He’ll share practical fire safety and emergency preparedness tips for people living with low vision.

Topics include:

✅ Home fire prevention
✅ Cooking safety
✅ Smoke alarms
✅ Emergency escape planning

Register today. ⤵️

Register for Macular Chats Join us for a series of free monthly telephone discussions from Macular Degeneration Research, a program of BrightFocus Foundation, featuring retina specialists and other eye care professionals who will discuss various aspects...

10/17/2026

10/17/2026

She lived 10 minutes from her eye clinic. It took her almost a week to get there.

When her vision suddenly changed, the friend who usually drove her was sick. By the time she found a ride, her dry macular degeneration had turned wet, and she lost vision in her better-seeing eye. It wasn’t because she didn’t understand her disease or couldn’t afford care. She just had no way to get there.

Transportation is one of the most overlooked barriers to eye care. In the full episode, we look at how social determinants of health shape vision outcomes. We also talk about Rides in Sight, a free national service that connects people with reliable rides to sight-saving appointments.

Watch the full episode: https://bit.ly/4yiTNCp

10/17/2026

A monthly gift of $15 or $25 can help provide steady support for innovative macular degeneration research so promising studies can keep moving forward.

Join us by October 17 to become a monthly donor and make this Day of Hope a Year of Hope: https://bit.ly/4xZraKu.

10/15/2026

Macular Degeneration Research–funded scientist Charles DeBoer, MD, PhD, is developing an implantable device that delivers wet macular degeneration treatment directly to the abnormal blood vessels that drive vision loss. The goal is to help prevent further damage while reducing the need for frequent eye injections.

Find out more. ⤵️

Grants > A Novel Implantable Device to Treat Wet Macular Degeneration Updated On: Oct 2, 2026 Macular Degeneration Research Grant A Novel Implantable Device to Treat Wet Macular Degeneration Innovative Approaches to Macular Degeneration Treatments Princ...

10/10/2026

This week, the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine recognized the discovery of optogenetics, a method of using light to control the activity of cells.

Learn how researchers are studying optogenetics to restore partial vision in retinal diseases, including macular degeneration. 🔬

This breakthrough technology is one of the most promising approaches to vision restoration.

10/08/2026

🥬 Can what’s on your plate help protect your sight?

Experts don’t yet know exactly what causes macular degeneration, but research suggests diet may play a role. Diets high in fat, cholesterol, and high-glycemic foods (like white bread, sugary snacks, and processed foods) may raise your risk.

Meanwhile, eating plenty of antioxidants and leafy greens may help lower it.

This , learn more about protecting your vision. ⤵️

Certain measures have been shown to decrease the risk of macular degeneration. Learn more about prevention and risk reduction.

10/08/2026

Have a donor-advised fund? Use it this DAF Day to help advance critical macular degeneration research and bring hope to millions facing vision loss.

Gifts will be matched through October 17, up to $50,000, in honor of our Day of Hope: https://bit.ly/46PFPwG.

10/07/2026

New research from BrightFocus Macular Degeneration Research grantee Dr. Claudio Punzo points to the eye’s light-sensing cells as a potential driver of age-related macular degeneration.

His team's single-injection gene-silencing therapy reversed this process in lab models, which could one day mean new treatments.

Learn about the crucial role early funding played in this exciting discovery.

After discovering that photoreceptors actively drive the debris formation seen in age-related macular degeneration, BrightFocus Macular Degeneration Research grantee Claudio Punzo, PhD, helped develop a single-injection gene-silencing therapy designed t...

10/02/2026

Day of Hope is October 17! Be one of 17 new monthly donors by the 17th, and your first gift can be matched, up to $50,000. Help advance critical macular degeneration research all year long.

To donate, visit: https://bit.ly/4xZraKu