Now, radical cure for old age blindness

London: People suffering from age-related blindness will have something to cheer about in near future if the scientists succeed in their efforts.

Surgeons in the UK have carried out a pioneering human embryonic stem cell operation on a 60-year-old woman at the world-renowned Moorfields Eye Hospital in London city.

The procedure involved “seeding” a tiny patch with specialised eye cells and implanting it at the back of the retina. The London Project to Cure Blindness was established a decade ago to try to reverse vision loss in patients with Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

Ten patients with the wet form of AMD will now undergo the procedure.

“We won’t know until at least Christmas how good her vision is and how long that may be maintained, but we can see the cells are there under the retina where they should be and they appear to be healthy,” said Professor Peter Coffey of the University College, London, Institute of Ophthalmology, who is co-leading the project.

The cells being used form the Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE) — the layer of cells that nourish and support the photoreceptors in the macula, the seeing part of the eye.

In macular degeneration, the RPE cells die, and as a result the eye loses function. Patients with AMD lose their central vision, which becomes distorted and blurred. Professor Lyndon Da Cruz of Moorfields Eye Hospital who carried out the surgery said: “This is truly a regenerative project. In the past it’s been impossible to replace lost neural cells. If we can deliver the very layer of cells that is missing and give them their function back this would be of enormous benefit to people with the sight-threatening condition.”

If the treatment is successful, the scientists say, it would also help patients in the early stages of dry Age-related Macular Degeneration , and could potentially halt their vision loss.