The study just came out in the Lancet. Articles
www.thelancet.com
Published online October 15, 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61376-3
1
Human embryonic stem cell-derived retinal pigment
epithelium in patients with age-related macular
degeneration and Stargardt’s macular dystrophy: follow-up
of two open-label phase 1/2 studies
It’s all beginning. These are diseases that have never had cures or treatments. The new day of medicine has DAWNED.
Er… what’s beginning?
Paging Ferret Herder!
The dawn!
I guess that’s kind of vague. 
This is a journal article about the 3-year results of a study on people with advanced macular degeneration (both age-related and Stargardt’s, which is genetic and affects younger people.) It’s the first study ever done on a human embryonic stem cell treatment with such a long follow-up. In this study, only ONE patient’s vision followed the normal course of MD over that period (normal = getting worse.) Everyone else either stayed the same (which shouldn’t happen) or improved (which definitely wouldn’t normally happen.) Over half had a significant improvement.
I’ve been following this study and this science for three and a half years. I was diagnosed with idiopathic macular degeneration, a very very rare form that affects younger people and is treated with the same drugs as for wet age-related macular degeneration. NOBODY thought that the anti-VEGF drug would help me… it did, and I had a great response; I’m so much luckier than a lot of other people. But Avastin and the other drugs like it are treatment, not a cure. The most common form of AMD is the “dry” kind, which has no treatment at all (neither do the other types.)
So this is a great day. 
I hope the context helped!
I just missed the editing deadline! what I meant to add is that my doctors tried the drugs because at least it was something to do, I guess… but nobody actually expected them to have an effect.
Yes, that is great news and I hope you get a lot of benefit from it.
Rather ironic that the main organization against research like this also makes a big deal about the healing of the blind… well, at least one man, a long time ago.
I’m blind for a different reason. Still waiting for the new dawn, and with great certainty, I will not see. That is all.
My husband has Wet Macular Degeneration, and is treated every 6-8 weeks with Avastin. He has regained much (but not all) of the sight in that eye.
That’s exactly the drug I had. It definitely has great results for some people… your husband and I were two of the lucky ones, I think… although nobody really knows exactly what disease/disorder/whatever I had, Avastin is one of the drugs designed for wet AMD, and it did work. I hope everything continues to go really well for your family!!
Thanks! His doc is very pleased with the results. 