Sight Restored for Two Patients!

As you may already know, Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the cause of approximately half of all cases of blindness. Macular degeneration is an age-related condition which involves breakdown of the cells behind the rods and cones which form the retina. This affects the way nutrients reach the retina and also removes waste – the build-up of waste materials slowly kills surrounding cells.  Over time the degeneration widens into a blind spot in the center of the vision that makes it difficult to see.  The position of the blind spot falls in an area called the macula.  The macula is responsible for seeing details of whatever we are looking at.

That being said, there are 2 elderly patients in the UK who had their sight restored after British physicians used stem cells to repair the degenerating tissue.  It has been a year since surgery and they are still reporting success.  To read the story of these two patients as well as what the future holds for this treatment, the following link will provide some interesting reading: 

https://www.sciencealert.com/stem-cell-therapy-reverses-macular-degeneration-british-patients