STEM CELL THERAPY SHOWS PROMISE FOR RETINAL DEGENERATION

Medscape - Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embryonic stem cells can be safely transplanted into the eyes of patients with retinal degeneration, with early signs of vision gain, according to pioneers in the field. Two teams of researchers reported preliminary findings from phase 1 and phase 2 trials at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) 2017 Annual Meeting. Patients had the dry form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or Stargardt disease and received injections of human embryonic stem-cell (hESC)-derived RPE cells. At a press briefing, the presenting authors were optimistic but cautious as the studies are very early and very small. "We are encouraged by the results thus far," said Eyal Banin, MD, PhD...>>>