New data support a change in management of glaucoma from eye drops, the current standard of care, to a laser procedure, researchers reported at a medical meeting this week.

The laser procedure has already been shown to be at least as effective as eye drops in a clinical trial of 700 recently diagnosed patients. Progression of the disease was found to be 29% slower 6 years later in trial participants who underwent selective laser trabeculoplasty than in those who received eye drops, according to data presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting in Chicago. The laser-treated patients were also less likely to need glaucoma surgery.

“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,” study leader Giovanni Montesano, MD, of Moorfields Eye Hospital in London said in a statement.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology has said selective laser trabeculoplasty can be used as a replacement for eye drops or in addition to them.

A recent analysis published in JAMA Ophthalmology estimated that as of 2022, some 4.2 million U.S. adults age 40 or over had glaucoma, with Black individuals disproportionately affected.