Japanese researchers say they have conducted the world's first surgery using iPS cells, on a patient with a macular degeneration. The operation is seen as a major step forward in regenerative medicine. A team led by Masayo Takahashi from a RIKEN research lab in Kobe performed the operation on Friday with the cooperation of a team from the Institute of Biomedical Research and Innovation.
The patient was a woman in her 70s with age-related macular degeneration, which involves a progressive decline in vision. The researchers obtained a small amount of the patient's skin cells and turned them into induced pluripotent stem cells. Using the iPS cells' ability to develop into any kind of body tissue, the team then transformed them into retinal tissue.
Part of the patient's deteriorating retina was then surgically replaced with the iPS-derived tissue. The patient reportedly came out of anesthesia after being under for approximately 3 hours. The researchers told reporters the patient is recovering well in a hospital room. They added there has been no excessive bleeding or other problems.
Yasuo Kurimoto of the Institute of Biomedical Research and Innovation said he believes the surgery was successful. Masayo Takahashi of the RIKEN lab said she's relieved the surgery was completed safely. She added that although she wants to believe the first clinical case was a major step forward, much more development is needed to establish iPS surgery as a treatment method.
The researchers say the primary objective of the operation was to check the safety of the therapy. They say that since the patient has already lost most of her vision-related cells, the retinal transplant would only slightly improve her eyesight or slow its loss. But the researchers say the therapy could become a fundamental cure if its safety and efficacy can be confirmed by the transplant.
They plan to monitor the patient over the next 4 years. iPS cells were developed by Kyoto University Professor Shinya Yamanaka, who was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. This first-ever use of such cells in a human patient is seen as a major step forward for regenerative medicine — a kind of therapy aimed at restoring diseased organs and tissue.
Source: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140912_53.html
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