ABSTRACT
Until the initial Macular Photocoagulation Study (MPS)
outcome data were published in June 1982, there were
no reported treatments of proven benefit for patients
with choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to
age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The MPS
trials conducted from 1979 to 1994 showed that laser
photocoagulation was preferable to observation for
several categories of well-defined CNV based on the
fluorescein angiographic location of the CNV with
respect to the geometric center of the fovea, i.e., extra-
foveal, juxtafoveal, and subfoveal (1-5). The MPS
publications also described the factors which limited
the utility of laser photocoagulation treatment.
