CELLULAR REPROGRAMMING, vol.20, no.6, pp.329-336, 2018 (SCI-Expanded)
This prospective clinical case series aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of suprachoroidal adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cell (ADMSC) implantation in patients with dry-type age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Stargardt's macular dystrophy (SMD). This study included four patients with advanced-stage dry-type AMD and four patients with SMD who underwent suprachoroidal implantation of ADMSCs. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in the study was 20/200. The worse eye of the patient was operated on. Patients were evaluated on the first day, first week, and first, third, and sixth months postopera-tively. BCVA, anterior segment and fundus examination, color photography, fundus autofluorescence, optical coherence tomography, and visual field examination were carried out at each visit. Fundus fluorescein angiography and multifocal electroretinography (mf-ERG) recordings were performed at the end of the first, third, and sixth months and anytime if necessary during the follow-up. All eight patients completed the sixth month follow-up. None of them had any systemic or ocular complications. All of the eight patients experienced visual acuity improvement, visual field improvement, and improvement in mf-ERG recordings. Stem cell treatment with suprachoroidal implantation of ADMSCs seems to be safe and effective in the treatment of dry-type AMD and SMD.