Have scientists found a way to reverse sight loss? A jab of skin cells could hold the key

A jab of stem cells from a patient’s own skin could be the first treatment for a leading cause of sight loss.

An estimated 250,000 people in the UK live with severe visual problems due to dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and there is no treatment.

AMD occurs when the macula — the part of the retina at the back of the eye involved in sharp, central vision — becomes damaged.

Researchers believe the injection of stem cells will replace those cells lost to the disease and could even reverse sight loss. The treatment is now being studied in a trial with 20 patients. People with the condition lose their central vision; they can see a clock’s outline but can’t tell the time, for instance, and they may lose the ability to recognise people’s faces. It is usually diagnosed by a routine eye examination, and first signs often occur in people in their 50s and 60s.

There are two types of AMD: dry and wet. Dry is the most common form — the result of a build-up of a fatty substance called drusen at the back of the eyes, leading to the loss of light processing cells.

A jab of stem cells from a patient’s own skin could be the first treatment for a leading cause of sight loss. [File image] 

The wet type, which accounts for 15 per cent of the total 600,000 AMD cases in the UK, is triggered by the growth of abnormal blood vessels underneath the retina which leak fluid and blood into it, damaging cells involved in sight and causing vision loss.

While there is a treatment for wet AMD — in the form of anti-VEGF drugs that halt the development and leaking from blood vessels — the only option for people affected as dry AMD progresses is to use vision aids including magnifiers.

But scientists now believe stem cells — master cells from which all other cells are produced — taken from the skin or bone marrow could be the answer.

The one-off treatment, known as an intravitreal injection, involves removing stem cells, growing them into retina cells in the lab and then putting them in a solution before injecting them into an area behind the retina at the back of the eye.

The injection takes less than half an hour and numbing drops are used, so the procedure is pain-free.

The theory is that once in place, the stem cells will grow new retinal cells to replace the ones that degenerate in those with dry AMD.

This is not the first time scientists have used stem cells to try to develop a treatment for dry AMD. The charity The Macular Society has warned of the dangers of unlicensed use of stem cell injections usually taken from body fat.

In 2017, the New England Journal of Medicine reported vision loss in three patients after intravitreal injections of stem cells from fat.

The hope is using stem cells from the skin or bone marrow will cut the risk of complications or rejection.

In the new trial at Belarusian State Medical University, 20 patients with dry AMD will have their vision checked before and after the treatment and will be monitored for a year.

Researchers believe the injection of stem cells will replace those cells lost to the disease and could even reverse sight loss. [File image] 

Gwyn Williams, a consultant ophthalmologist at Singleton Hospital in Swansea, said: ‘Dry AMD is by far the greatest cause of certification for sight impairment in the UK; a situation that is only going to get worse with our ageing population.

‘This research is interesting, but we should be cautious as there have been several false dawns in the past with stem cells.

‘They have so far failed to prove discernible benefits, as well as carrying significant risks.’