On the 20th, a national subcommittee on a clinical study planned by a hospital in Kobe City to mix cells in the back of the eyes created from iPS cells into a liquid and transplant them into the eyes of actual patients. , I accepted the plan.

At the regenerative medicine subcommittee of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare held on the 20th, a clinical study planned by a group of director Yasuo Kurimoto of Kobe City Kobe Eye Center Hospital was approved.



According to the plan, cells called "retinal pigment epithelial cells" that spread over the retina of the eye are created from iPS cells, and the fluid containing these cells is transplanted into the back of the patient's eye.



The target is patients with severe eye diseases such as retinal degenerative diseases, which have poor eyesight or lack of vision due to the decrease in these "retinal pigment epithelial cells".



The study aims to transplant to 50 patients, and after spending a year confirming whether eye function can be maintained or improved and whether there are any safety problems, another 3 years have passed. Is to observe.



According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the subcommittee has been discussing how to explain to patients participating in the study, but the plan was approved at the meeting on the 20th.