[Progress in retinal transplantation]

Work on retinal transplantation has been attempting a possible approach to treatment of retinal disorders. The first application of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) transplantation in humans was done in 1991. This article traces the history of retinal transplantation research offering hope for the development of a cure for human retinal disorders. Over the past few years, published results have revealed dramatic strides in the research field of retinal transplantation. Different types of retinal transplantation had been developed. Whole retina transplantation makes use of fetal retina as donor to transplant into the recipient eye. Results from the investigations demonstrated the synaptic connection of the transplanted retinal cells to the host retinal neuronal cells. Another type of retinal transplantation is photoreceptor cell transplantation. Recent studies in RPE transplantation have clearly shown that photoreceptor cells in rats with inherited retinal dystrophy can be rescued from ultimate degeneration by transplantation of healthy RPE cells. We expect that the progress in retinal transplantation research will provide valuable therapies for some human retinal disorders.