Patients regain sight after treatment with retinal tissue from stem cells

Patients with sudden severe sight loss from wet AMD have regained reading vision after being implanted with an engineered patch of retinal pigment epithelium cells derived from stem cells.

The study, conducted by the London Project to Cure Blindness, investigated whether a stem cell based patched could replenish diseased cells at the back of a patient’s affected eye. Two patients with the severe form of wet AMD, a woman in her early 60s and a man in his 80s, were implanted with the stem cell patch by a specially engineered surgical tool. The surgeon inserted the patch under the retina in the affected eye of each patient during a 1- to 2-hour operation.

The patients were monitored for 12 months and reported vision improvement. Both went from not being able to read at all with glasses to reading 60 to 80 words per minute with normal reading glasses, according to the press release.

Results from the study suggest the treatment’s safety and effectiveness.