In Japan, wet age-related macular degeneration is the most common form, but in Caucasian populations, only about 10% of people with age-related macular degeneration gets that form. Yaffe said this optimism stems from preliminary studies using retinal cells derived from stem cells in animals. One, the London Project to Cure Blindness, has an ongoing clinical trial for a stem cell treatment. Both induced pluripotent stem cells and embryonic stem cells can be used to make other kinds of cells of the body, explained Bharti. 'Major milestone'Though the experiment was performed on a woman with wet age-related macular degeneration, it also might be useful for "dry" age-related macular degeneration, which is more common in the United States, according to Iuvone.

Source: CNN March 15, 2017 21:11 UTC