PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsNewsStem cell implant improves dry macular degeneration

BioNews

Stem cell implant improves dry macular degeneration

Published 6 April 2018 posted in News and appears in BioNews 944

Author

Dr Caroline Casey

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).

A stem cell implant appears to be safe, suggest the results of a clinical trial for the dry form of age-related macular degeneration...

A stem cell implant appears to be safe, suggest the results of a clinical trial for the dry form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). 

In dry AMD, a layer of cells beneath the retina that provide light-sensing cells in the eye with nutrients begin to thin. Eventually, the light-sensing cells can die and lead to partial blindness. 

In a study published in Science Translational Medicine, researchers grew a layer of embryonic stem cells on an ultra-thin membrane to replace the lost cells beneath the retina. The stem cell layer was implanted under the retina of four patients at an advanced stage of the condition. 

Dr Amir Kashani from University of Southern California's Roski Eye Institute, lead author of the study, said he did not expect an improvement in vision due to the patients advanced stages of disease. 'But after surgery, one patient could read 17 more letters on an eye chart than before surgery,' he told Wired. 

In follows-ups completed up to 12 months after the procedure, no further vision loss was reported. In one case, the implant improved the patient's vision within four months of surgery. 

The study was small and did not include control subjects, which would confirm statistical and clinical relevance. However, the results mark a huge step towards finding a cure for dry AMD, the most common cause of blindness in the UK. Nearly 200 million people worldwide are expected to suffer from a form of AMD by 2020, according to the US non-profit organisation, the BrightFocus Foundation. 

The trial is now being extended to study 20 patients over a five-year period to test the effectiveness of the implant. The research team has hopes that the implant will be more effective in restoring vision for people in earlier stages of the disease. 

The trial follows the success of a similar recent stem cell treatment for the wet version of AMD (see BioNews 943). 

Related Articles

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).
News
30 July 2020 • 2 minutes read

Embryonic stem cells shown to promote self-renewal

by Dr Melania Montes Pérez

New research into how embryonic stem cells renew themselves could pave the way for tissue and organ regeneration therapies...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
22 February 2019 • 2 minutes read

UK woman has first gene therapy operation for dry AMD

by Dr Loredana Guglielmi

An 80-year-old woman from Oxford — Janet Osborne — has undergone the world's first gene therapy operation to target the root cause of age-related macular degeneration...

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).
News
1 February 2019 • 2 minutes read

Surgery with stem cells repairs eyes in clinical trial

by Paul Waldron

Stem cells taken from dead donors have been used to restore the damaged surface of the eye in a clinical trial, which researchers say is the first of its kind...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
17 August 2018 • 2 minutes read

Gene therapy kickstarts stem cells to help blind mice see

by Dr Kimberley Bryon-Dodd

Scientists have partially restored sight in mice with congenital blindness by using gene therapy to activate retinal stem cells...

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).
News
3 August 2018 • 2 minutes read

Japan launches first clinical trial of stem cells for Parkinson's

by Dr Caroline Casey

A first-of-its-kind clinical trial has been announced, which will use induced pluripotent stem cells to treat Parkinson's disease patients...

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).
News
23 March 2018 • 1 minute read

Pioneer stem cell therapy restores sight in two blind patients

by Dr Greg Ball

A ground-breaking new stem cell therapy has restored sight in the first two patients to receive it...

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).
News
4 December 2017 • 2 minutes read

Stem cell therapy shows promise in patients with sight loss

by Jenny Sharpe

Preliminary results from two early stage clinical trials suggest that embryonic stem cells could be used to treat patients with dry age-related macular degeneration...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
1 June 2017 • 2 minutes read

Gene therapy success in age-related macular degeneration trial

by Dr Kimberley Bryon-Dodd

A small, preliminary clinical trial has demonstrated safe and well-tolerated gene therapy to treat wet age-related macular degeneration...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« Estonia to DNA test 1 in 10 citizens to give lifestyle advice

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.

Find out how you can advertise here
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
13 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

Drop in diversity of blood stem cells leads to old-age health issues

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

First UK medical guidelines issued for trans fertility preservation

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Common virus may be cause of recent hepatitis cases in children

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Male age has more impact on IVF birth rate than previously thought

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

CRISPR genome editing treatments may raise cancer risk

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Differences in IVF-conceived children's size disappear by adolescence

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856