NEXT-GENERATION stem cell therapy has brought scientists a step closer to a treatment for thousands of people with macular degeneration.
US researchers have successfully transplanted specialised retinal cells grown from embryonic stem cells into the eyes of rats.
One of the lead researchers, David Hinton, said the procedure was a significant advance towards a treatment for the disease, the leading cause of blindness in older people. ''At the present time there is no effective therapy and this at least has a reasonable chance of slowing the progression of the disease,'' Professor Hinton, a principal investigator with the California Project to Cure Blindness, said.
The project team is waiting on US government approval to conduct human trials that it hopes to begin within the next two years.
While embryonic stem cells can differentiate into any type of body tissue, if cultured in a particular way they can spontaneously transform into the cells damaged in macular degeneration, known as retinal epithelial cells, Professor Hinton said. His team measured a significant improvement in the vision of rats that had received the transplanted cells.
Another group in the US has begun human trials using a similar procedure.
The number of people diagnosed with macular degeneration in growing in Australia and the US as populations age, said Professor Hinton, who will present his findings at the 16th Stem Cell Workshop in Sydney today.
A report published by the Macular Degeneration Foundation found the number of cases of the disease, which has two forms, wet and dry, will increase by 70 per cent by 2030.
The majority of people have the dry condition, which causes the death of retinal epithelial cells and the degeneration of photoreceptor cells - the cells that turn light into a signal the brain can process - leading to blindness. Only 10 per cent of people diagnosed have the wet form, which, unlike the dry condition, can be treated.
The use of embryonic stem cells has been contentious because human embryos must be destroyed to obtain them. Professor Hinton said their research used cells obtained ethically, where the mother had given permission for them to be used. Australian researchers using embryonic stem cells must be licensed with the National Health and Medical Research Centre.
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Researchers see advance in treating leading cause of blindness
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