Study shows that stem cell transplant helps vision loss patients

A study has provided a clearer understanding of how patients with vision loss due to limbal stem cell deficiency could benefit from a stem cell transplant with donated cells.

This is the first randomised and controlled study of its kind that investigated how safe and effective it is to transplant corneal epithelial stem cells from a donor into the eyes of bilateral patients.

Patients either received corneal epithelial stem cells cultured on amniotic membrane (IMP) or control amniotic membrane only and after 18 months, patients in the IMP group showed significant and sustained improvement in their ocular surface.

Sajjad Ahmad, Ph.D., co-investigator formerly with St Paul's Eye Unit, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, said: ‘This trial demonstrates that sustained benefit is achieved by the IMP in ocular surface disease compared with controls. That leads us to believe that this intervention warrants further study in larger sample sizes in a Phase III study.’