A recent study involving 2 people with severe sight loss has resulted in both people regaining the ability to see well enough to read with normal reading glasses. This study, which involved both individuals receiving tissue grown from human embryonic stem cells, has been a breakthrough in the treatment for AMD (Age Related Macular Degeneration), which leads to rapid loss of the central vision.

One treated, both people in the study went from being unable to read at all to reading 60-80 words per minute. Both were kept under observation for a further 12 months post treatment, and have had no severe side effects.

More than 60,000 people in the UK suffer with Age Related macular Degeneration; the results from this study are a positive step in creating a treatment.

Lyndon da Cruz, who serves as a consultant ophthalmologist at the Moorfield Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said, ““The results suggest that this new therapeutic approach is safe and provides good visual outcomes. The patients who received the treatment had very severe AMD, and their improved vision will go some way to enhance their quality of life.”

Journal reference: Nature Biotechnology, DOI: 10.1038/nbt.4114
https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.4114