UK Surgeons Carry out First Successful Trial of Stem Cell Therapy for Blindness

Surgeons from the United Kingdom have taken a massive step forward towards curing one of the most common form of blindness by successfully using the stem cell therapy. Researchers are testing out the efficacy and safety of transplanting retinal pigment epithelium – eye cells – into the patient’s eye.

Surgeons from London’s Moorfields Eye Hospital carried out the first successful operation on a female patient with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Surgeons inserted a bioengineered patch behind the retina which then delivers the required treatment cells at the back of the eye, replacing the cells affected by the condition.

More than 50% of all cases of blindness or loss of vision is because of age-related macular degeneration. Among the two types of AMD, the dry one is more prevalent than the wet one, where abnormal blood vessels leak fluid or blood into the centre of the retina.

People suffering from AMD finds it increasingly difficult to read, becomes colour blind and cannot differentiate between people’s faces. By 2020, it is predicted that more than 700,000 people will have late-stage AMD in the UK alone.

After the successful surgery on the 60 year old woman, who was considered legally blind, surgeons are optimistic of a breakthrough, even though the full impact of her sight is unknown. She is one of the 10 people to have taken part in the trial.

“The reason why we are so excited is that we have been able to grow a perfect copy of the eye,” commented Professor Lyndon Da Cruz, a surgeon at Moorfields.

“Having got this far, we feel it will work,” added Professor Cruz.

After the successful trials, Chris Mason, a professor of regenerative medicine at University College London, believes stem cells in treatments have a lot more to offer and this trial provides both a deeper understanding of this method. “There has been a lot of research behind this and this is not looking like a route to treatment,” added Mason.

He went on to describe the surgery as “big step forward to curing a major cause of blindness.”