Macular degeneration is one of the three main causes of loss of eyesight in Taiwan. At present, it is only possible to retard the degeneration of the condition, with no effective treatment available. Taipei Veterans General Hospital (TVGH) now hopes to use pluripotent stem cells to repair damaged retinas and photoreceptors to restore vision to the visually impaired.
Approximately 10 to 15 percent of senior citizens over the age of 65 in Taiwan suffer from age-related macular degeneration. Of these, around 30 percent, or almost 100,000 people, will experience irreversible degeneration of the retina and photoreceptor cells as the condition progresses, and this will eventually lead to loss of the central vision. At present the only available treatment is injections to retard the condition’s progress.
After years of joint efforts, TVGH, in conjunction with National Chiao Tung University, National Yang-Ming University and University of California, San Diego, has developed the Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC) technique in which autologous cells are reprogramed as “induced pluripotent stem cells” which are then divided into retinal pigment epithelial cells and retinal ganglion cells. These were shown to restore full range of vision in six pigs during animal experiments, disproving the idea that damaged retinas are irreparable.
Photo: CNA
照片：中央社
(CNA, translated by Paul Cooper)
黃斑部病變是台灣人失明三大主因之一，目前僅能延緩惡化，並無有效治療方式。台北榮總以血液分化成萬用幹細胞，可望修復壞掉的視網膜及感光細胞，讓失明患者重現光明。
全台六十五歲以上長者有約百分之十至十五罹患「老年性黃斑部病變」；其中，約百分之三十、近十萬人會隨病程發展，導致視網膜及感光細胞產生不可逆的退化，最後喪失中心視力，目前僅能終身注射藥物延緩惡化。
台北榮民總醫院、交通大學、陽明大學以及美國加州大學聖地牙哥分校合作多年，成功將自體細胞重新編程為「誘導性多功能幹細胞」，並分化成「視網膜色素上皮細胞」及「視網膜神經節細胞」，在動物實驗中成功讓六隻豬隻恢復視野，打破視網膜無法再生觀念。
（中央社）
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