The doctors at the Moorfields Eye in London have carried out an experimental stem cell treatment on a 60-year-old female patient suffering from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which could pave the way for blindness cure, Tech Times reports.
Macular degeneration affects people aged 50 years old and comes in wet and dry forms.
The patient, who underwent the procedure last month, suffers from wet AMD.
Wet AMD is caused by blood vessels that leak blood or fluid into the region of the macula near the center of the eye's retina, while Dry AMD is caused by breakdown or thinning in the macula's layer of retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE).
"Although we recognize this clinical trial focuses on a small group of AMD patients who have experienced sudden severe visual loss, we hope that many patients may benefit in the future," Pete Coffey, from University College London, said.
The treatment involves transplanting eye cells called retinal pigment epithelium, derived from embryonic stem cells.
"It does involve an operation, but we're trying to make it as straightforward as a cataract operation," Coffey said, according to the guardian.
"It will probably take 45 minutes to an hour. We could treat a substantial number of those patients."
The surgery was performed successfully and no complications have been reported so far. However, it will take months before the outcome in terms of visual recovery is known.
