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It was on the news, just last evening, of a significant breakthrough in Stem Cell Research amid a British trial that has been working with eye disease patients in the UK. The Telegraph reported how two blind people have shown signs of being able to see again – despite having incurable eye disease – following a revolutionary operation involving the transplant of stem cells derived from a human embryo.
The two people are the first wave of patients to receive controversial transplants of embryonic cells as part of an ambitious attempt to treat a range of incurable diseases with stem cells. The first-ever study to show that human embryonic stem cells may help reverse patients’ diseases was launched at UCLA’s Jules Stein Eye Institute in the USA. On July 12, 2011, the scientists injected retinal cells derived from embryonic stem cells into the eyes of two patients suffering from progressive blindness, and the results announced suggest that the treatment has changed their lives. The international group of doctors and researchers involved in the safety trial, sponsored by Advanced Cell Technology (ACT), which produced the retinal cells, reported in the journal Lancet that the patients who received the therapy are doing well, showing no signs of adverse effects from the treatment and even reporting small improvements in their vision. So far, 24 additional patients are expected to receive the same treatment.
In a separate clinical trial being conducted in Britain, a 34-year-old Yorkshire man suffering from Stargardt's disease underwent an embryonic stem cell transplant in his right eye last Friday at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. Macular degeneration involves the progressive loss of cells in the retinal epithelium, the tissue layer that supports and protects the light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye. Patients with macular degeneration lose their central vision, which is important for reading and recognising faces.
"It is hoped that cell transplants might play a role in protecting people from sight loss in the future. This is a very early, small step in the development of a new, effective intervention," Professor Bainbridge said, "This is a safety trial so we are deliberately going for patients with advanced sight impairment to limit the possible damage from the stem-cell transplants. In future we'll be looking to recruit less advanced patients," he said. Up to 12 patients with Stargardt's disease will be recruited into the phase one safety trial in Britain, which is being run from Moorfields and Aberdeen. Different doses of stem cells will be compared for safety in preparation for a phase two clinical trial designed to assess whether the therapy can significantly restore vision.