The first human trials using embryonic stem cells is showing promising results, a conference on blindness was told today.
Cells implanted into the eye of patients with a rare condition called Stargart’s macular dystrophy have not had an adverse impact on patients in initial clinical trials carried out in the United States.
The results are potentially hugely significant for the whole area of stem cell research which doctors believe could be critical in fighting a whole host of conditions from cancer to paralysis and heart failure by replacing diseased cells with stem cells either taken from embryos or grown in the laboratory.
Stargart’s mascular dystrophy is an incurable and irreversible condition which affects the eyes from birth and damages the central vision of patients. There are between 100 and 200 sufferers in Ireland.
It is also similar to the much more common age-related macular disorder (AMD) which affects thousands of people over the age of 50 in Ireland.
Those suffering from both conditions will get a chance tomorrow to hear from two of the doctors involved in the trial in the Jules Stein Eye Institute in UCLA at a conference organised by Fighting Blindness in Trinity College Dublin.
Doctors at Moorfield Hospital in London have been given permission to conduct the first human embryonic stem cell therapies in Europe which they will do next year.
Up to 12 patients will be selected for the trials which will involve injecting retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embryonic stem cells into the back of the eye.
Prof James Bainbridge from Moorfields Eye Hospital, who will carry out the surgery, said it was encouraging that the same process used on mice appeared to suggest that their eyesight had improved. He attended the conference today.
He said they were in the process of selecting potential candidates for the trial, but those involved must have advanced eye damage which has proved to be incurable by conventional methods.
He cautioned that the initial trials will simply determine the safety of the procedure rather than look to reverse the eye damage but the trials were potentially significant.
The process of using embryonic stem cells is controversial among pro-lifers because the cells are harvested from human embryos.
Prof Bainbridge said the process could not be achieved to date using stem cells grown in the laboratory which do not involve the destruction of the embryo.
Fighting Blindness chief executive Avril Daly said she expected many people with Stargardt’s and other macular problems to turn up tomorrow to hear about the stem cell trials especially as the conditions are irreversible.
