UK team pioneers experimental cure for age-related blindness

An end to macular degeneration? We'll have a better idea in November

A UK medical team is pioneering a potential cure for age-related blindness, with a treatment aimed at replacing damaged cells.

Doctors at London's Moorfields Hospital transplanted embryonic stem cells into a 60-year-old woman who recently became unable to see.

The unnamed UK resident is one of many who suffer from age-related macular degeneration (AMD) which causes loss of central vision.

The operation is geared toward replacing damaged cells, and restoring sight in the process. However, whether or not the experimental treatment has been successful will be unclear until at least November.

Nine more patients with a form of AMD that most readily lends itself to treatment are due to be treated by a team led by Professor Lyndon Da Cruz.

AMD is the most common cause of blindness, with more than 600,000 UK victims. Treatment protocols of various effectiveness exist but there’s no cure as yet, the Daily Telegraph reports. ®