Cord blood for the treatment of macular degeneration
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago, working under the leadership of Professor Paul Chan, have launched a phase 2 clinical trial aimed at evaluating the safety and tolerability of therapy for age-related macular degeneration using cells derived from multipotent cord blood cells.
Macular degeneration, which currently has no effective treatment method, is the leading cause of visual impairment in people over the age of 55. The disease causes the degradation of light-sensitive cells in the center of the retina, which leads to the loss of central vision, depriving people of the ability to read, drive a car and recognize faces. The tested therapeutic approach is designed to treat the "dry" form of macular degeneration, which accounts for about 90% of cases of the disease. This form progresses more slowly than the "wet" one, but eventually leads to complete loss of vision due to the destruction or thinning of the retinal pigment epithelium cell layer. These cells are located directly under the layer of photosensitive rods and cones and are necessary for their normal functioning.
In a clinical study, multipotent umbilical cord blood cells are differentiated in laboratory conditions into cells similar to retinal pigment epithelium cells. These cells are injected under the retina of patients in the hope that they will prevent further degeneration of rods and cones and, possibly, partially restore vision.
The authors note that eye surgeons usually work inside the vitreous body, that is, in the center of the eyeball, and in order to penetrate under a very fragile layer of the retina without damaging the surrounding tissue, they needed a completely new type of catheter, which was designed specifically for the study.
According to the study's lead eye surgeon, Dr. Yannek Leiderman, if the clinical trial is successful, doctors will be able to use a new method to treat patients with early stages of the dry form of age-related macular degeneration and moderate visual impairment to slow down the death of pigment epithelial cells and photoreceptors.
In June, Leiderman and his colleagues injected grown cells similar to retinal pigment epithelium cells into two patients (in one eye each) with severe dry age-related macular degeneration and severe vision loss. Their condition will be monitored for several years.
To evaluate the effectiveness of the method, a larger phase 3 clinical trial will subsequently be conducted, in which patients will be injected with differentiated cord blood cells or placebo. However, the authors note that before they can assess the real impact of the procedure on visual acuity, they still have a lot of work to do.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the University of Illinois at Chicago: Clinical trial tests cord-blood cells to treat macular degeneration.
22.07.2016