New strategies of stem cell therapy in retinal disease

GALLO, JE

Varsovia

Simposio; International Symposium. Stem Cells: Therapeutic Outlook for Central Nervous System Disorders; 2016

Polish Academy of Sciences

New strategies of stem cell therapy in retinal diseaseJuan E GalloDepartment of Ophthalmology, Austral University Hospital and Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Austral University.Institute of Research in Translational Medicine, CONICET & Austral University.In the retina the damage of retinal ganglion cells, retinal pigment epithelial cells and photoreceptors cells cause potentially blinding diseases as glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and others. Cell therapy has risen new hopes for the management of these diseases. In vivo studies and phase I-II clinical trials have shown promising results. However, several factors as cells source, route of administration, integration and function of cells into the retina as well as safety are still under close evaluation. New non-invasive techniques of molecular imaging of the retina might accelerate the process of clinical application of stem cells.Challenging tasks and future perspectives of cell therapies in retinal diseases will also be discussed.