Original articleTransplantation of autologous retinal pigment epithelium in eyes with foveal neovascularization resulting from age-related macular degeneration: a pilot study
Section snippets
Patients and methods
Fourteen consecutive eyes of 13 patients were included in this prospective pilot study. Eyes underwent surgery within a 1-year period (March 1999 to February 2000).
The study was approved by the institutional review board of the Rudolf Foundation Clinic, and subjects signed informed consent forms that indicated that the procedure was a novel experimental approach and an alternative to conventional membrane extraction surgery and laser photocoagulation. This study was a consecutive interventional
Results
The median observation time was 17 months (range, 12 to 24 months). The age of the patients ranged from 48 to 82 years (median, 73.5). Five were male, and eight were female.
Preoperatively, the best-corrected visual acuity ranged from 20/50 to finger counting (median, 20/590). Twelve-month follow-up results showed that best-corrected visual acuity was improved 2 or more lines in eight eyes (57.1%), remained the same (± 1 line) in five eyes (35%), and decreased by more than 2 lines in one eye
Discussion
Our hypothesis, that retinal pigment epithelium transplantation could be an effective therapy, was based on the following facts: In membranes with rapid growth, the retinal pigment epithelium is only partly damaged and partially hyperactive.30 Bruch membrane is locally fragmented but not completely missing.31 The nasal retinal quadrant contains relatively more retinal pigment epithelium cells than the other three quadrants32 and is much less involved in the disease. The addition of retinal
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