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Review
. 2015 Jan 26;7(1):160-4.
doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v7.i1.160.

Stem cell therapy for retinal diseases

José Mauricio Garcia  1 , Luisa Mendonça  1 , Rodrigo Brant  1 , Murilo Abud  1 , Caio Regatieri  1 , Bruno Diniz  1
Affiliations
Review

Stem cell therapy for retinal diseases

José Mauricio Garcia et al. World J Stem Cells. .

Abstract

In this review, we discuss about current knowledge about stem cell (SC) therapy in the treatment of retinal degeneration. Both human embryonic stem cell and induced pluripotent stem cell has been growth in culture for a long time, and started to be explored in the treatment of blinding conditions. The Food and Drug Administration, recently, has granted clinical trials using SC retinal therapy to treat complex disorders, as Stargardt's dystrophy, and patients with geographic atrophy, providing good outcomes. This study's intent is to overview the critical regeneration of the subretinal anatomy through retinal pigment epithelium transplantation, with the goal of reestablish important pathways from the retina to the occipital cortex of the brain, as well as the differentiation from pluripotent quiescent SC to adult retina, and its relationship with a primary retinal injury, different techniques of transplantation, management of immune rejection and tumorigenicity, its potential application in improving patients' vision, and, finally, approaching future directions and challenges for the treatment of several conditions.

Keywords: Human embryonic stem cell; Induced pluripotent stem cell; Macular degeneration; Retinal pigment epithelium; Stargardt’s disease.

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