A new technique has been developed by researchers at the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli Irccs to slow down the evolution of age-related atrophic macular degeneration.
Sub-retinal injections of a product derived from umbilical cord blood have in fact proven capable of slowing down the evolution of this condition, which is still untreated and can lead to vision loss.
In Italy, a few million people over 50 suffer from it.
The innovative path attempted by Gemelli, which exploits the regenerative capacity of umbilical cord blood, has been described in Opthalmology Science. 'Atrophic' macular degeneration (dry or elderly) is one of the most frequent eye pathologies in the industrialized world in over 50 and can lead to complete loss of vision in the central part of the visual field.
It affects a few million Italians in various stages of severity, while estimates for 2050 predict that 280 million people worldwide will be affected by this pathology.
The 'dry' form represents 90% of all age-related degenerative maculopathies and to date has no authorized treatment in Europe.
"Atrophic degeneration is a very common and disabling pathology in the elderly, for which to date there is no treatment in Europe - explains Stanislao Rizzo, director of the Ophthalmology Unit of the Gemelli Polyclinic Foundation and full professor of Ophthalmology at the Catholic University - We therefore had the idea of using a derivative of umbilical cord blood, platelet-rich plasma (Prp). We are the first in the world to have had this experience and the one just published is our phase 1 study."
Furthermore, the sub-retinal injection, explains Maria Cristina Savastano, of the Ophthalmology Unit of the Agostino Gemelli Irccs University Polyclinic Foundation, "is not a simple procedure, to be entrusted to expert hands, which cannot be repeated too frequently. Therefore , we immediately designed a parallel intra-vitreal administration protocol, much easier to perform and safer, which has already been underway for a year."
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