Translational Research in Serious Human Diseases

0536563 - ÚŽFG 2021 RIV CZ eng M - Monography Chapter
Tichotová, Lucie - Ardan, Taras
Age-related macular degeneration and modern aspects of therapy.
Translational Research in Serious Human Diseases. Praha: Academia, 2020 - (Kello, M.; Strnadel, J.; Klempir, J.; Roth, J.; Myslivcová-Fučíková, A.; Hansíková, H.; Kozák, I.), s. 154-159. ISBN 978-80-200-3158-7
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT(CZ) LO1609
Institutional support: RVO:67985904
Keywords : retinal pigment epithelium * age-related macular degeneration * cell therapy
OECD category: Ophthalmology

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a widespread worldwide disease in population over 60 years old. The macula and its retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) are influenced by AMD and patients can lose central vision. It can limit reading, driving a car, recognizing faces – living normal life. AMD consists of two types – wet and dry form. The wet form is treatable by injection of anti-VEGF. On the other hand, the dry form is still not treatable and it is subject of research. It includes RPE or stem cell transplantation, macular translocation or gene therapy. The cell transplantation includes injecting suspensions of RPE cells, transplanting RPE cell sheets or inserting membranes with cultivated RPE cells. Primary cells, embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells can be used for RPE cell transplantation. Another surgical procedure can be macular translocation, which describes delivering healthy macular mass into an area with healthy RPE cells. But this procedure has been largely abandoned due to poor outcomes. The last described treatment is gene therapy, which can turn the cells of the inner retina into “replacement photoreceptors”.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0314331