Composite Subretinal Implants May Lessen Vision Loss From AMD

THURSDAY, April 5, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- A composite implant, termed the California Project to Cure Blindness-Retinal Pigment Epithelium 1 (CPCB-RPE1), which consists of a polarized monolayer of human embryonic stem cell-derived RPE (hESC-RPE) on an ultrathin parylene substrate, may improve visual function in some patients with non-neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NNAMD), according to a study published online April 4 in Science Translational Medicine.

Amir H. Kashani, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and colleagues conducted an interventional U.S. Food and Drug Administration-cleared phase 1/2a study to assess the safety and efficacy of a in patients with advanced NNAMD.

In an interim analysis of the phase 1 cohort comprising five subjects, four of the subjects successfully received the composite implant. The researchers identified changes consistent with hESC-RPE in all implanted subjects on optical coherence tomography imaging, as well as host photoreceptor integration. There was no progression to vision loss in any of the implanted eyes; one eye improved by 17 letters, and two demonstrated improved fixation.

"The concurrent structural and functional findings suggest that CPCB-RPE1 may improve visual function, at least in the short term, in some patients with severe vision loss from advanced NNAMD," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to Regenerative Patch Technologies and/or are named as inventors on patents associated with the technology described in this publication; Regenerative Patch Technologies holds an exclusive license to these patents.

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