Pilot study with intravitreal administration of autologous CD34+ cells
Intravitreal administration of autologous CD34+ stem cells from the bone marrow may be a potential therapy for retinal diseases, according to Dr Susanna S. Park, who leads the pilot study being conducted at the University of California-Davis Eye Center in Sacramento (California, USA).
Bone marrow cells are a source of stem cells capable of activating regenerative mechanisms as they induce local trophic effects. A subclass of these cells are CD34+ cells, which exist only in humans and have already been successfully used to treat blood or coronary artery diseases. In the ocular field they could be used to treat AMD and Stargard's disease.
The Californian study enrolled patients with irreversible vision loss for at least six months between November 2012 and August 2014.
Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) ranged from 20/100 to finger counts. A complete visual examination was performed at baseline and then repeated after 1 day, 1 and 2 weeks, 1, 3 and 6 months after intravitreal injection of autologous CD34+ bone marrow cells.
Overall, the therapy was well tolerated and no intraocular inflammation or hyperproliferation was reported. The only adverse event noted was grade 1 local pain after aspiration of the marrow (performed with a single withdrawal).
The improvement in BCVA ranged from 0 to 11 ETDRS lines. These are still preliminary results that confirm the pre-clinical hypothesis on the feasibility of this therapy and the absence of relevant safety issues.
The efficacy and safety profile will have to be the subject of further prospective studies with longer follow-up.
For more details see the open access' article with data from the pilot study.
Dr. Carmelo Chines
Direttore responsabile
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