A successful macular degeneration treatment using autologous adult stem cells
julio 4, 2008
Prof.Dr. Lombardi, Eye Clinic Rome/ XCell-Center Cologne
Case Report
Patient age: 45
An extremely myopic patient (around -7/ -8 diopters) previously treated in 2001 with refractive PRK laser surgery came to our clinic on March 3rd 2007.
In October 2005, she was treated at the University Clinic of Rome for a left eye maculopathy. She had undergone several photodynamic laser macula treatments and two "lucentis" intra vitreo injections with a disastrous clinical result. Her clinical condition continued to worsen.
When she arrived she had a central scotoma on the left eye and she could not count her fingers.
In the right eye we observed the onset of macula degeneration with macula epiteliopathy and 9/10 corrected visual acuity that we have been able to preserve until the present.
After some detoxification treatments the patient was sent to the XCell-Clinic on April 25, 2008 for a bilateral autologous stem cell retrobulbar implantation.
Just two weeks after the treatment, during an objective, standardized examination, this patient shows significant improvement.
Even an untrained observer can clearly see this improvement in the graphics and the numerical variation of retinal sensitivity clearly expressed in the Visual Fields and Threshold Fovea Maps.
Until treating this patient with stem cells, we had never observed such improvement, especially considering the severity of the disease and the iatrogenic damage.
We believe that the retrobulbar injection of stem cells might first prevent the progression of dry and wet macular degeneration by reducing the Drusen deposits in the retinal pigment epithelium beneath the macula. It might also prevent the destruction of the photoreceptors in both the dry and wet type, by reactivating proper micro-vessel activity and reducing the abnormal blood vessel growth beneath.
