A group of hospitals in Kobe City and others announced that they have performed the first clinical research surgery to transplant retinal cells created from iPS cells into strings for patients with serious eye diseases.
The surgery was performed by a group led by Dr. Yasuo Kurimoto, director of Kobe City Kobe Eye Center Hospital.
In the group, retinal cells called "retinal pigment epithelium" created from iPS cells are used in the eyes of patients with "age-related macular degeneration" (AMD), a condition in which the number of retinal cells decreases, resulting in decreased visual acuity and visual field loss. I have been researching processing and transplanting.
In an online press conference, the group revealed late last month that it performed its first transplant operation on a female patient in her 50s living in the Kansai region.
The transplanted cells were processed into a string with a width of 0.1 mm and a length of 2 cm.
The group will monitor the progress for one year to see if there are any safety issues, and will perform surgery on 49 more people over the next five years to confirm safety and effectiveness.
The group has also been conducting clinical research on transplanting cells in a liquid form, but it is expected that more cells will remain in this string-like method.
Director Kurimoto said, "I think it will be a treatment that can restore the eyesight of many patients. I would like to put it into practical use as soon as possible and provide it."