Stem cell therapy for macular degeneration

Human RPE cells grown in culture were subsequently transplanted into animal eyes, initially using open techniques and later through closed cavity vitrectomy methods.

It was observed that rejection rates were lower in cases of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) compared to the wet form of the disease.

[6] In 2014, surgeons at Riken Institute’s Center for Developmental Biology reported the first transplantation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into a human patient.

The retinal sheet was transplanted into a woman in her 70s suffering from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition that blurs central vision and can lead to blindness.

In March 2017, the team conducted the first successful transplant of retinal cells created from donor-derived iPSCs into a patient with advanced wet AMD.