Without treatment vision can deteriorate in days.
Advertisement
A surgeon in Britain, Professor Lyndon Da Cruz, has performed a new type of stem cell surgery aimed at curing age-related macular degeneration.
Sky reported that the surgery took place last month and no complications have been reported, though it will still take several months before doctors can establish how well the woman can see. Although it can develop at any time, macular degeneration occurs usually during old age, specifically when men and women are already 50 years old and above. In AMD this vision becomes increasingly blurred, which means that reading becomes hard, colours appear less vibrant and people’s face are hard to recognise. Stem cells are blank cells capable of being reprogrammed to transform into any cell in the body, meaning they can replace damaged tissue.
In the new technique, a stem cell from an embryo is grown in the lab to create a single layer of retinal pigment epithelium cells.
The condition affects more than 60,000 people in Scotland and 600,000 across the United Kingdom as a whole, and is the leading cause of blindness in adults, according to the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). Another nine patients are to receive the treatment.
It is estimated that one in every 10 people over 65 has some degree of AMD.
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer joined the partnership in 2009 with the goal of creating a potential therapy for AMD.
This is the first time experts have employed a “patch” technique using embryonic cells from donated embryos with the aim of reversing vision loss in patients.
Professor Da Cruz said embryos were the “perfect source” of cells, adding: “The reason we are very excited is that we have been able to create these very specific cells and we have been able to transfer them to the patient”.
This looks to restore the support cells which help remove the daily build up of dirt in the eye which are lost in macular degeneration, causing a toxic environment to form.
He explained that using the patient’s own cells was complex and carried risks, which is why the London Project opted for the embryonic stem cell line, which can produce a limitless supply of specialist cells.
George Freeman, life sciences minister, said: “This revolutionary 21st century treatment to tackle one of the major causes of blindness is a sign of the UK’s world class Life Science sector – and the potential of the NHS to be a partner in clinical research and innovation”.
“If the AMD trials are successful, then by using embryonic stem cells as the starting material, the therapy can then be affordably manufactured at large scale”.
Advertisement
It is far too early to make any judgment, but if successful, it would be a stunning medical advance of huge implications.
