The FDA has approved trials for a potential treatment for macular degeneration showing promise
Advanced Cell Technology has been given the approval they need from the Food and Drug Administration to start a clinical trial for those with macular degeneration.
The trial will start with just 12 people. They will test the safety of the product on a condition called dry age related macular degeneration. The cells that have been destroyed causing someone to go blind, will be replaced with the company’s retinal pigment epithelial cells, which has proven positive in rats and mice. Back in November, they started a clinical trial with kids dealing with a rare disease called Stargardt’s macular dystrophy.
Macular degeneration affects 10 million to 15 million Americans. With an aging population, experts anticipate that number to begin increasing rapidly. There is currently no cure for the disease, although a few things can be done to help slow the process down. Macular degeneration is when the retina is slowly destroyed causing blindness. Patients can’t see faces or things they look directly at, but they do maintain their peripheral vision.
The cells are not only showing positive signs for macular degeneration, but also for Parkinson’s disease, diabetes and other illnesses.
Human embryonic stem cells has been a heated topic in politics because these cells are taken from 5 to 6 day old embryos. Advanced Cell Technology makes it very clear that with their single cell extraction, the embryo is not destroyed.
