A new technique to slow the progression of age-related atrophic macular degeneration has been developed by researchers at the Agostino Gemelli IRCCS University Polyclinic Foundation. Subretinal injections of a product derived from umbilical cord blood have been shown to slow the evolution of this condition, which is still orphaned by treatment and can lead to vision loss. A few million people over the age of 50 suffer from it in Italy. "Atrophic" (dry or elderly) macular degeneration is one of the most common eye diseases in the industrialized world in people over 50 and can lead to complete loss of vision in the central part of the visual field. It affects in various stages of severity a few million Italians, while estimates for 2050 predict that 280 million people worldwide will be affected. The "dry" form accounts for 90 percent of all age-related degenerative maculopathies and to date has no approved treatment in Europe. In the face of the prevalence of this disabling condition, in short, there is a serious unmet need related to its treatment. At Gemelli, therefore, an innovative path, described in a very recent publication in Ophthalmology Science, is being attempted that exploits the regenerative capabilities of umbilical cord blood. Two drugs, belonging to the category of complement cascade inhibitors, have recently been approved in the U.S. for the treatment of this condition. The treatment, intraocular, is given monthly or bimonthly for an indefinite time; in the U.S. one vial costs about $3,000. These drugs, however, have not yet been given the green light by the EMA. The patent for the intraocular use of pools of PRP from umbilical cord blood has just been filed in the US.
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