Patient Resources

Vision Protection Therapy is a patented treatment program designed to prevent vision loss from macular degeneration.

Vision Protection Therapy works by activating your immune system to naturally heal the ageing damage in your eye. It is safe because it gets your body to heal itself.  It “turns back the clock” on your AMD, essentially making your eye younger. 

Vision Protection Therapy is only offered at Vision Protection Institutes and affiliates. Locations can be found at VisionProtection.com.  More Vision Protection Therapy clinics are opening all the time. Please let us know where you are so that we can keep you informed if you do not have a Vision Protection Institute nearby.

No. While it may be new to you and your doctors, Vision Protection Therapy is the product of over 20 years of clinical research and has been used extensively for AMD on thousands of patients for over 10 years.

Vision Protection Therapy is preventive. Preventive treatment always works better the sooner you start it.

Dr Luttrull is the world’s top authority on retinal laser treatment and preventive treatment for eye diseases. He is the inventor and developer of SDM™ and Vision Protection Therapy. You can learn more about Dr Luttrull here.

In a recent nationwide study, Vision Protection Therapy reduced vision loss and the need for eye injections 13 times better than AREDS vitamins alone. In published studies, Vision Protection Therapy reduced the risk of vision loss from AMD by 93-98% per year, compared to AREDS vitamins 4% per year.

From dozens of peer-reviewed scientific publications, medical meeting presentations, and over 200 US and international patents. The most important of these publications can be download for review from the Physician Resources page of this website.

The FDA approves medical devices and drugs. Vision Protection Therapy uses an advanced FDA approved microsecond pulsed infrared laser system to perform SDM™, which is the heart of Vision Protection Therapy. Treatment of AMD is one of the “indications for use” for this laser system approved by the FDA.

This is a common question. It presupposes that Randomized Clinical Trials (RCTs) are the only reliable measures of safety and efficacy. This idea has become widespread in recent years, for a simple reason. Only large companies, like Big Pharma, have the money to perform RCTs (typically costing $20 to $200 million and years to perform).  The drug industry has spent vast amounts of money promoting the idea that only RCTs are reliable, because only they can afford to do such studies.  Drug companies are businesses whose business is to make money, like any other business. But that means that doing the best for you is not necessarily their main concern. They have shareholders to answer to. 

Doctors have been one of the main targets of this type of drug company advertising and promotion in recent years. Notice the TV ads: "....ask your doctor for XYZ".  When randomized clinical trials are done, the drug companies that pay for them help design them to improve the chances the results are favorable to their product, pay all the doctors, oversee the publication of the data, and decide what data is made public. Poor results generally hidden and never published or made public. Thus, if you only rely on RCTs, you are relying entirely on drug companies and the information they want you to see for your information. The doctors working for drug companies are under pressure to deliver the good results the companies want to see and have paid for. Thus, problems may be overlooked, the benefits of treatment overstated, and risks understated.

Fortunately, there are other sources of data and information. Better sources. More trustworthly sources. This is what we have on Vision Protection Therapy. These days, with large databases and the internet, one of the best ways to get information is to use "real world data" (RWD).  With RWD one can research virtually anything with vast amounts of information at your disposal to find out how things really work, not just in the lab or for-profit company-sponsored trials. RWD studies show how things actually work in the world, with real doctors, and patients like you. 

The Cochrane Collaboration is the best and most trusted source of data analysis in medicine. In 2014 the Cochrane Collaboration published a study comparing the results of RCTs to the results of real world studies  (Anglemyer et al). They found that there was no difference in the findings of RCTs compared to large RWD studies.

The efficacy of Vision Protection Therapy for AMD is demonstrated by two very large (almost 10,000 patients total) RWD studies that yielded virtually identical results: Vision Protection Therapy is the most effective treatment ever developed to prevent vision loss in AMD. In these studies, Vision Protection Therapy reduced the risk of vision loss and wet AMD by 93-98% per year, compared to just 4% for AREDS vitamins alone. This is data you can trust in your real world.

Reliable real-world data showing extraordinary results. The benefits of Vision Protection Therapy for AMD have been analyzed in large studies of thousands of patients treated over years and found to reduce the risk of vision loss and developing wet AMD 13-20X better than AREDS vitamins alone, the only other proven treatment. How reliable and important is this real-world data? Consider the COVID vaccines: The COVID vaccines were approved for emergency use on the basis of highly controlled small-group experiments called "randomized clinical trials". But the COVID vaccines were not fully approved until data from real-world studies on thousands of patients treated around the country confirmed the results of the smaller controlled studies. This is the kind of real-world data that shows the unsurpassed effectiveness of Vision Protection Therapy for AMD - the results from Vision Protection Therapy for AMD patients, like you, in everyday life.

It’s normal to be skeptical. No one is more skeptical than doctors. Unfortunately, many doctors believe they should be skeptical about everything they don’t know about or understand. While that sounds right, it isn’t. Anybody can be skeptical. You don’t have to know anything to be skeptical. Skepticism never accomplished, created, or discovered anything. That’s what curiosity does. So, how is it possible that Vision Protection Therapy is so good?

In short, because of how it works. It does nothing but get your body to bring everything it’s got to make your eyes better. Only your own body knows how to do that perfectly. 

Think about it: The better technology gets, the more it is like magic. Vision Protection Therapy is advanced technology. Think back to the 1960s. What if someone handed you a smart phone in 1961 and told you what it could do? Or described the internet and email? Video streaming? You probably wouldn’t believe it. Now, we can’t live without it. If you have AMD don’t let skepticism -yours or anyone else’s - deny you Vision Protection Therapy. Until someone magically invents new ones, these are the only eyes you’ll have.

In the 1980’s and 90’s old-fashioned retinal laser treatment (photocoagulation, or laser burning) was used in dry AMD to make drusen go away by burning the retina. These were called the “laser for drusen” studies. Guess what! It worked! It did make the drusen go away. But it also made the eyes worse and caused patients to lose even more vision.  “Laser for drusen” treatment therefore was abandoned in the 1990’s.  Apparently, that’s what your doctor thinks Vision Protection Therapy is. Those "laser for drusen" studies over 30 years ago - that may give you an idea about when the last time your doctor updated his information on retinal laser treatment. 

Vision Protection Therapy is actually the exact opposite of what your doctor thinks.  Vision Protection Therapy does absolutely no damage to the retina, so it doesn't make drusen go away. That is a good thing. Instead, it activates you immune system to make your eye healthier and work better. Vision Protection Therapy improves visual function and visual acuity, slows progression of your AMD, and reduces the risk of wet AMD. It is in every way the opposite of what your doctor thinks. Feel free to let him know!

Vision Protection Institutes accepts Medicare and most PPOs. For information about your specific plan, please contact us.

Most HMO do not offer Vision Protection Therapy yet. If Vision Protection Therapy is not covered by your insurance, payment will be your responsibility.

Yes. Vision Protection Therapy also helps wet AMD. Vision Protection Therapy makes the drug injections for wet AMD work better. When they work better, they last longer. When they last longer, you don’t need as many injections. So, patients with wet AMD need 69% fewer injections on average if they also get Vision Protection Therapy.

Yes. Vision Protection Therapy is the most effective treatment ever developed to prevent vision loss from dry AMD.

Yes. Vision Protection Therapy is the most effective treatment ever developed to preventive vision loss from geographic atrophy. In a published study, Vision Protection Therapy safely slowed progression of geographic atrophy by 47% per year. No other treatment, including AREDS vitamins, can do this.

Yes. Studies have shown that Vision Protection Therapy can improve eyes with glaucoma by making the optic nerve healthier through an effect called “neuroprotection”. Vision Protection Therapy is the only treatment known to do this. By making your optic nerve stronger and continuing treatment, we hope and expect to slow progression of your glaucoma and reduce the risks of vision loss.

Yes. Studies have shown that Vision Protection Therapy can improve and even reverse diabetic retinopathy progression to reduce the risks of vision loss and improve vision. In most patients, Vision Protection Therapy can replace or prevent the need for drug injections for long-lasting results. 

Yes. Studies have shown that Vision Protection Therapy is generally highly effective for Central Serous, even if other treatments have failed.

Yes. Studies show that, on average, the visual acuity of patients getting Vision Protection Therapy improves with time, while the vision of patients who don’t get Vision Protection Therapy continues to get worse.

Yes. Studies have shown that Vision Protection Therapy can improve eyes with RP. By continuing treatment, we hope and expect that to slow disease progression.

"I've spoken to my retina specialist about Vision Protection, naturally he knew nothing about you. He looked up Dr. Luttrull and commented to me that 'if this was real Dr. Luttrull would have a professorship at a large university and nor be in private practice in a small town like Ventura. He also told me to be careful, because most of the people with claims that are not standard practice are only out to take money from people.' How do I get him to move from his little corner of the world to look beyond the box?"

No doctor wants you to think he doesn't know everything, or that he doesn't have the latest technology like VPT. Its human nature to discount what we don't know.

This patient's doctor is just uninformed. No one can know everything. However, he is honest and speaks for most ophthalmologists and retina specialists about Vision Protection Therapy. While his comments are unintentionally flattering, like many he assumes only university professors can think.   Reality is that a professorship is no more a guarantee of excellence than private practice is an indicator of  mediocrity. 

Dr Luttrull's career is indeed unique. His peer-reviewed scientific publications  and citations by other researchers exceed  most university professors, despite a career in solo private practice. Not to mention that Ventura, where Dr Luttrull grew up surfing, is a very nice place to live. 

No doctor can keep up with every new study published almost every day from dozens and dozens of journals. Most likely, your doctor has not read the hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific studies leading to the development of Vision Protection Therapy that have been published over the past 20 years. There are many competitors for doctors attention. Big Pharma uses its power to dominate what most doctors hear and read. 

For these and other reasons, studies show that it takes doctors 17 years to adopt the newest and best information and technologies in their practices. With the pace of technology these days, that means that by the time your doctor adopts and offers something new, it is likely already out of date and obsolete.   Think in dog years. 

Compounding the slow uptake of information is the fact that, because of our leadership in the field, the Vision Protection Institutes are many years ahead of the rest of the eye community in leading preventive care for AMD. 

Think about it. 17 years is a long time in a person's life.  It's a long time to have AMD.  While your doctor thinks he or she is doing the best for you by recommending against Vision Protection Therapy, how many people will lose their vision to AMD waiting an average of 17 years  for their doctor to catch up?   (Answer: most) Are you willing to be one of them? Don't wait for your doctor to recommend Vision Protection Therapy. Call us today and start doing all you can do to keep  your vision despite AMD.  It is up to you.

Vision Protection Therapy takes about 2 minutes for each eye.

Yes. Vision Protection Therapy has no side effects.

No. Vision Protection Therapy is completely painless. We don’t even touch your eye.

For AMD, Vision Protection Therapy should be done every 3 to 4 months to get the best results.

No. For most patients, dilation is not necessary. That means you can drive to your appointments, work, and read right after treatment without any difficulty.

A complete eye examination will be performed, and your ocular and medical history taken. High resolution diagnostic images will be taken of your eyes, and special tests of your vision will be done. This will tell us if you have AMD, what kind, and what kind of treatment will be best for you. An informational video will be presented explaining more about AMD, current treatments, what Vision Protection Therapy is and how it works. After that, our Vision Protection Institutes Clinical Educator will answer all of your questions. Your Vision Protection Therapy can either be scheduled, or many times performed the same day for your convenience. Your Vision Protection Therapy will be performed either by Dr Luttrull, or another Vision Protection Institutes specialist trained and certified by Dr Luttrull to perform your Vision Protection Therapy.

Yes! Vision Protection Therapy uses a laser system FDA approved for treatment of AMD to perform advanced SDM laser on a regular basis to maximize your vision and minimize your risks of vision loss. There has never been another treatment for AMD as safe and effective as SDM Vision Protection Therapy.

AMD is easily diagnosed by a brief examination. Sometimes, special testing can be helpful as well. The Vision Protection Institutes specialize in the diagnosis of AMD. That is how we can tell if Vision Protection Therapy would be appropriate for you.

No. But it can make you “legally blind” and make your vision so bad you can’t read, drive or recognize faces.

There is no single AMD gene that determines whether or not you get it. So, in that sense it is not inherited. Instead, AMD is “multifactorial”. That means many things contribute. So, if your parents had AMD and you look like them, you might have AMD too. Only examination and testing can tell. This is what we do at the Vision Protection Institutes. 

In February 2023 the FDA approved “Syfovre”. This is a monthly eye injection for the worst type of dry AMD called “geographic atrophy” (GA). We are not as excited as your doctor. 

The worst complication of AMD is “wet” AMD. That means that Syfovre is the most dangerous drug you can take for your AMD. This is because Syfovre increases the risk of wet AMD by 2000% per year. 

In the phase 2 clinical trial that formed the basis of Syfovre’s FDA approval, Syfovre slowed progression of GA by an average 20% per year. Compared to nothing, that is something. But compared to Vision Protection Therapy, it isn’t much. If you understand the technology used to measure that 20% improvement, and the fact that drugs never work as well in real life as they do in clinical trials, even that 20% is very optimistic and will likely not be duplicated in future real-world studies of Syfovre. One would hope for better from monthly eye injections like Syfovre. 

But that isn’t even the bad news. 

The bad news is the Syfovre caused wet AMD in over 20% of patients. That is 20 times higher than the patients who didn’t get Syfovre. These patients ended up with worse eye problems and needing 2 injections in the same eye every month. 

In a 5-year real-world study, Vision Protection Therapy slowed GA by 47% per year, and twice that much for earlier, smaller, GA lesions. That is over twice as effective as Syfovre. Unlike Syfovre, Vision Protection Therapy has no complications or side effects.  Instead of increasing wet AMD by 20 times (2000% per year), Vision Protection Therapy reduces the risk of wet AMD by 95% per year.  We think that makes Vision Protection Therapy the logical choice.

What about using Syfovre with Vision Protection Therapy? Wouldn’t that get the best results? There is no evidence it would work like that; however, we believe that Syfovre simply adds far too much unnecessary risk of wet AMD for us to recommend it, considering that Vision Protection Therapy is both more effective and much safer.  

It’s your eye. It’s your choice.

Vision Protection Therapy does not replace drug injections if you need them. Instead, Vision Protection Therapy makes the drug injections work better to reduce the number of injections you might need by almost 70%. If you have dry AMD and have not needed injections, nothing is more effective than Vision Protection Therapy at keeping you from needing injections in the first place.

Currently, drug companies make over $10 billion a year on drugs for eye diseases. This makes it a very attractive market for others to enter. At this writing, 97% of all research trials in ophthalmology are sponsored by drug companies hoping to have a drug approved for sale. Because of this, recruiting patients for drug company study trials has become a big business for retina doctors. This is usually called "research". It is important to remember that many patients recruited for drug company trials do not actually get treatment. Instead, they get a placebo – no treatment. Despite promising theories, only about 10% of drugs studied in such trials are ever actually approved as safe and effective. The other 90% are either not effective, or the side effects and risks outweigh any benefits. So, the chance that the treatment offered you in an experimental trial will turn out to help you, is quite small. Because Vision Protection Therapy for dry AMD is both extraordinarily effective and has no known complications or side effects, it is unlikely that any future drug or other therapy will be superior.

Many people have read about PBM for AMD. A small study suggests it may help, although there is very little data at this point. 

PBM works by the “photoelectric” effect. It works by exposing the eye to visible light, usually yellow and/or red, for long periods of time to increase the metabolism of the retina. It has been studied for many years and is safe. As noted, it may help AMD. However, a study of diabetic retinopathy showed that PBM did not help. 

Vision Protection Therapy (VPT) using invisible infrared light to produce thermal (temperature) spikes in the retina that activate the immune system to improve and normalize retinal function. Thus, VPT, using SDM laser treatment, works very differently than PBM. VPT also improves the retinal metabolism. But it does many other very important things as well. VPT treatment is quick and long lasting compared to PBM. VPT has been shown in many published scientific papers to be effective in every chronic progressive retinopathy, including diabetic retinopathy where PBM does not help. In AMD, studies of tens of thousands of patients have shown VPT to be extremely effective as well as safe. Thus, there is far more known about the effectiveness and safety of VPT than PBM. While PBM may be found to have benefits, it is very unlikely they will be a great as those already known for Vision Protection Therapy.