In this interview from AAO 2014, Dr. Steven Schwartz shares the first evidence that treatment with transplanted stem cells is both safe and beneficial in patients with macular atrophy. In a study published this week, Dr. Schwartz and colleagues assessed the effects of subretinal transplantation of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESC) in 9 patients with Stargardt macular dystrophy and 9 with atrophic age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The investigators found no evidence of serious ocular or systemic safety issues or rejection. Also promising, 8 of 18 patients experienced improved visual acuity of at least 15 letters within the first year after surgery. Dr. Schwartz believes these results suggest that hESC-derived cells could provide a new, safe treatment of tissue degeneration caused by any disease.