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Updated: Feb 25, 2026

Author Spotlight: Advancing Vision Restoration - Stem Cell-Based Therapy for Retinal Diseases
Published on: October 6, 2023
Stem Cell Therapies for Reversing Vision Loss
Akon Higuchi1, S Suresh Kumar2, Giovanni Benelli3
1Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National Central University, No. 300, Jhongda Road, Jhongli, Taoyuan 32001, Taiwan; Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; Department of Reproduction, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, 2-10-1 Okura, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 157-8535, Japan; Nano Medical Engineering Laboratory, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
Abstract:
Current clinical trials that evaluate human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-based therapies predominantly target treating macular degeneration of the eyes because the eye is an isolated tissue that is naturally weakly immunogenic. Here, we discuss current bioengineering approaches and biomaterial usage in combination with stem cell therapy for macular degeneration disease treatment. Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) differentiated from hPSCs is typically used in most clinical trials for treating patients, whereas bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMNCs) or mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are intravitreally transplanted, undifferentiated, into patient eyes. We also discuss reported negative effects of stem cell therapy, such as patients becoming blind following transplantation of adipose-derived stem cells, which are increasingly used by 'stem-cell clinics'.
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