Photodynamic therapy with verteporfin (Visudyne): impact on ophthalmology and visual sciences.

Recently, the Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration with Photodynamic Therapy (TAP) Study Group reported that photodynamic therapy with verteporfin (Visudyne; Ciba Vision, Bülach, Switzerland) can reduce the risk of vision loss in patients with subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This is a review of the circumstances leading to the design of the TAP Investigation, the findings of that investigation, and the impact of those findings on clinicians and researchers in ophthalmology and vision sciences.