A treatment for common causes of blindness could be available within five years, scientists believe, after revealing the first two patients given a revolutionary stem cell therapy have regained enough vision to be able to read.
The two patients have advanced AMD – age-related macular degeneration – which destroys the central vision. Both were losing their sight. They were, said their surgeon, unable to see a book, let alone the printed letters.
But an implanted “patch” of stem cells over the damage at the back of the eye has restored the central vision enough not only for reading but to see faces that used to be a grey blur.