U.S. research promises to improve macular degeneration stem cell therapy in old age

A new study from the U.S. National Eye Institute says it could improve stem cell therapy for age-degeneration by better using induced omnic stem cells (iPS cells) to grow retinal pigment epithellocy cells, promising to brighten some blind people in the future.
Old age macular degeneration is a common age-related eye disease, early symptoms are vision loss, late stage is manifested as the center of vision dark spots, blurred vision, severe blindness, is one of the main causes of irreversible vision impairment in the elderly population.
in the healthy human eye, retinal pigment epithelocytes maintain the renewal and regeneration of photorescers, which transform light into electrical signals that the brain recognizes. In elderly macular degeneration patients, retinal pigment epithelocellular function decreases, leading to the degradation of the photoresponsor, which can lead to vision degradation and even blindness.
, lead researcher on the project, said they have found a good way to regenerate and update regenerating retinal pigment epithelocytes. Previously, researchers have tried to culture iPS cells from patient blood cells, and then grow the obtained iPS cells into retinal pigment epithellocy cells and transplant them to patients, but the resulting retinal pigment epithetic cell maturity rate has always been low.
study, a team led by
Buddy found that adding two drugs to the culture process that promote the growth of primary fibre hair in retinal pigment epithellules significantly increased the maturation rate of retinal pigment epithed cells.
paper was published January 2 in the
Journal. The team plans to push for clinical trials in 2018 to treat age macular degeneration with retinal pigment epithetic cell transplantation. (Source: Xinhua News Agency, Zhou Zhou, Lin Xiaochun)