Stem cell trial for AMD gets underway

A 60-year-old woman is the first of 10 patients in the UK to receive embryonic stem cell therapy for AMD.

Physicians at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London say the surgery performed last month was successful. No complications have been observed. Initial visual acuity results are expected in December.

Moorfields retinal surgeon Professor Lyndon Da Cruz, co-leader of the London Project to Cure Blindness with Professor Pete Coffey, performed the surgery. Professor Da Cruz and his team transplanted a patch of retinal tissue grown from stem cells to replace dead and dying photoreceptors in the patient’s eye.

“We are tremendously pleased to have reached this stage in the research for a new therapeutic approach,” said Coffey. “Although we recognize this clinical trial focuses on a small group of AMD patients who have experienced sudden severe visual loss, we hope that many patients may benefit in the future.”