by Dan Roberts Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (now owned by Astellas) has been conducting promising safety trials for stem cell treatment of macular degeneration, but a six-month follow up has yielded even better news than expected. ACT announced that Phase 1/2 clinical data treatment of Stargardt’s macular degeneration (SMD) and dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Surprising even [Read More]
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Final Stargardt Patient Treated In Initial Stem Cell Trial
Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) has treated the final patient in the UK-based Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety and tolerability of the company’s stem cell therapy for Stargardt’s disease. To date, no adverse events have been reported. The company is working with U.S. and European regulators to commence a Phase 2 trial to assess [Read More]
Gene Profiling Technique Accelerates Stem Cell Therapies for Retinal Diseases
(Source: National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health) Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have developed a technique that will streamline the production of stem-cell derived tissues. The technique will help the researchers in their efforts to use patients’ skin cells to create new retinal tissue, a therapy that has been recently applied to [Read More]
Woman Receives Retinal Stem Cells Made From Her Own Skin
On September 12, 2014, researchers at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Japan surgically transplanted into the eye of a woman a sheet of retinal pigment cells made from her own skin. This marks the first time stem cells from a person’s own body have been induced to become retinal cells and implanted into [Read More]
Low Vision Conferences Becoming High-Tech Accessible
Organizations for the blind and visually impaired will soon be able to provide indoor navigation technology at their national conferences. The service, called “Audio Guide”, is being offered free gratis to charitable organizations by Macular Degeneration Support, with financial backing by Macular Degeneration Foundation. Beginning in 2015, conference attendees will be able to more easily [Read More]