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Vision Loss after Intravitreal Injection of Autologous "Stem Cells" for AMD NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE Kuriyan, A. E., Albini, T. A., Townsend, J. H., Rodriguez, M., Pandya, H. K., Leonard, R. E., Parrott, M. B., Rosenfeld, P. J., Flynn, H. W., Goldberg, J. L. 2017; 376 (11): 1047-1053

Abstract

Adipose tissue-derived "stem cells" have been increasingly used by "stem-cell clinics" in the United States and elsewhere to treat a variety of disorders. We evaluated three patients in whom severe bilateral visual loss developed after they received intravitreal injections of autologous adipose tissue-derived "stem cells" at one such clinic in the United States. In these three patients, the last documented visual acuity on the Snellen eye chart before the injection ranged from 20/30 to 20/200. The patients' severe visual loss after the injection was associated with ocular hypertension, hemorrhagic retinopathy, vitreous hemorrhage, combined traction and rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, or lens dislocation. After 1 year, the patients' visual acuity ranged from 20/200 to no light perception.

View details for DOI 10.1056/NEJMoa1609583

View details for Web of Science ID 000396403700009

View details for PubMedID 28296617