The clinical trial authors aiming to improve the vision of patients suffering from eye diseases by transplanting embryo stem cells have published their results (in English) in The Lancet, a British medical journal.
The 18 patients who participated in the trial suffer from two types of disease – one half of the cohort has Stargardt macular dystrophy and the other half age-related macular degeneration (ARMD).
The results show that half of the treated patients “experienced a substantial improvement in their vision”. The vision of the other patients did not improve and even worsened in the case of one patient. The authors also noted that there was no rejection phenomenon or any other side effect following the injection of these cells.
Gènéthique Note:
According to the thorough analysis of this study in Gènéthique, this is a probing clinical trial that puts embryo stem cells in the race alongside iPS cells : A convincing clinical trial brings embryonic stem cells back into the race with iPS cells
Sciences et Avenir 15/10/2014 – The Guardian (Ian Sample) 15/10/2014 – The Lancet