Fr Michael Agius was praying before the tomb of Blessed Alexandrina in Portugal when news broke that British surgeons successfully performed a groundbreaking operation hailed as a ‘breakthrough’ towards curing the most common form of blindness.
Fr Agius, 67, who suffers from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), was praying for a world cure when he returned to see the headlines which hailed the operation as a ‘big step forward’ in treatment of AMD.
Surgeons at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London carried out the first embryonic stem cell operation on a 60-year-old female patient last month.
After taking a single stem cell from an embryo and growing a patch of cells in a laboratory, these were then transplanted into the patient’s eye. The cells were taken from unused embryos created during IVF treatment.
The retinal surgeon and project co-lead Professor Lyndon da Cruz, who is performing the operations, also happens to be Fr Agius’ consultant at Moorfields.
Thrilled at the news, Fr Agius e-mailed him his congratulations. Since Prof. da Cruz was abroad, he received an automated e-mail detailing the fact that the operation was only the first phase of a trial.
“I found it a bit disheartening after the massive hype but it’s a promising first trial.”
Describing the disease as “very cruel”, Fr Agius explained that he has, to date, received 26 very painful and very expensive injections in his eyes.
The government formulary list only offers the unlicensed Avastin, which does not agree with Fr Agius. European drug licensing laws say that Lucentis and Eylea should be the first choice of treatment for the condition and is offered for free in the UK.
Fr Agius has to fork out some €2,600 every eight to 10 weeks.
Ophthalmologists in Malta have also urged caution regarding the new trials.
It was still early days to verify the treatment’s safety, efficacy and reproducibility, Franco Mercieca told this newspaper.
The placement of the patch of cells under the sensory retina may turn out to be a very tricky procedure that, per se, can be associated with sight threatening complications, he pointed out.
While it may be a breakthrough, it is not ‘the’ breakthrough
“The best test for any kind of medicine or surgical procedure is the test of time and therefore it’s too early to celebrate.
“Regarding the local scene, once such procedure is refined, proved and tested, it should not be a problem to introduce it for our AMD patients.”
Thomas Fenech said that while the operation may be a breakthrough, it was not “the” breakthrough.
The future, rather, was IPS (induced pluripotent stem cells), which are adult cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell–like state.
Such cells had no risk of rejection or of transporting any tumours or malformations.
Japanese ophthalmologist Masayo Takahashi became the first to implant tissue derived from IPS cells into a person last year.
What is macular degeneration?
Macular degeneration is one of the leading causes of severe vision loss in people over age 60. It occurs when the small central portion of the retina, known as the macula, deteriorates. There is currently no cure.
The macula is responsible for focusing central vision in the eye, and it controls our ability to read, drive a car, recognise faces or colours and see objects in fine detail.
There are two types of macular degeneration: wet and dry. Generally, the damage caused by the ‘dry’ form is not as severe or rapid as that of the ‘wet’ form – although, over time, it can cause profound vision loss.