Have hESC been tested for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration?
['Development of human embryonic stem cell therapies for age-related macular degeneration', 'In this review, we describe recent approaches to develop cell-based therapies for the treatment of AMD. Recent research has focused on replacing the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), a monolayer of cells vital to photoreceptor cell health. We discuss the various methods used to differentiate and purify RPE from human embryonic stem cells (HESC), and describe the surgical approaches being used to transplant these cells in existing and forthcoming clinical trials.', 'Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is characterized by the loss or dysfunction of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and is the most common cause of vision loss among the elderly. Stem-cell-based strategies, using human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) or human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), may provide an abundant donor source for generating RPE cells in cell replacement therapies.', 'This study contributes to our understanding of the utility of hESC/hiPSC-derived RPE in AMD therapy.', 'Two important early potential hESC applications are the use of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration and Stargardt disease, an untreatable form of macular dystrophy that leads to early-onset blindness.', 'Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are a promising source of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells: cells that can be used for the treatment of common and incurable forms of blindness, such as age-related macular degeneration.', 'A potential application of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is the generation of retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a common but incurable retinal disease.', 'Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are a promising source of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells: cells that can be used for the treatment of common and incurable forms of blindness, such as age-related macular degeneration', 'A potential application of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is the generation of retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a common but incurable retinal disease', 'Assessments of safety and efficacy are crucial before human ESC (hESC) therapies can move into the clinic. Two important early potential hESC applications are the use of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration and Stargardt disease, an untreatable form of macular dystrophy that leads to early-onset blindness.', 'A potential application of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is the generation of retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a common but incurable retinal disease. RPE cells derived from hESCs (hESC-RPEs) and iPSCs (iPSC-RPEs) express essential RPE markers and can rescue visual function in animal models.', 'Two important early potential hESC applications are the use of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration and Stargardt disease, an untreatable form of macular dystrophy that leads to early-onset blindness. Here we show long-term functional rescue using hESC-derived RPE in both the RCS rat and Elov14 mouse, which are animal models of retinal degeneration and Stargardt, respectively.']
['Yes, human embryonic stem cell (hESC) therapies are being assessed for age-related macular degeneration (AMD).']
['yes']