Before treatment, a 51-year-old graphic artist suffering from Stargardt’s disease, the most common form of macular degeneration in young patients was legally blind. Another 78-year old patient suffering from dry macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly could not see well enough to go shopping. After being treated with stem cells from a donated human embryo, both of these patients improved dramatically. A week after treatment, the graphic artist could count fingers, and after one month she could read the top five letters on the eye chart. She can see more color and contrast, has started using her computer, and for the first time in years can read her watch and thread a needle. The macular degeneration patient recently went to the mall for the first time in years. These results represent the first medical use of stem cells taken from human embryos, making them crucial barometers of whether the controversial technique will find widespread therapeutic uses.
