Retinal cell transplants 'hold potential for treating blindness'

The transplantation of retinal cells in patients made blind by age-related macular degeneration (AMD) has proven successful in preliminary research.

According to an FDA-monitored experimental study, published in the August issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology, patients with AMD showed signs of visual improvement after undergoing transplantation of fetal retinal cells.

Lead researcher, Dr Norman D Radtke of University of Louisville, commented: "This clinical evidence shows the promise of our method to alter progressive vision loss due to incurable degenerative diseases of the retina."

"Retinal implants that combine retina and retinal pigment epithelium demonstrated an apparent ability to integrate with host retinas and to re-establish the visual pathways interrupted by disease," he explained.

There is currently no effective treatment for recovering vision lost as a result of AMD.

The researchers found no issues with the immune system of the participants rejecting the transplant.

According to the Foundation of Fighting Blindness, an estimated nine million people in the US either have or are at risk of developing AMD.