RALEIGH, NC. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Most of us take vision for granted. It allows us to read, drive, and recognize faces. But for people with a rare retinal disease called MacTel, that clear center vision can slowly disappear. Now, for the first time, there is a one-time, cell-based implant designed to slow vision loss and help people hold on to their independence.
Retirement was just another adventure for Yvette Crawley and her dog Riella Coconut, but then, her vision began to change.
“Things were not as sharp and not able to be corrected with my glasses. And I was like, something is not right,” she recalled.
What was happening was a rare, progressive eye disease known as MacTel.
“What it’s done is it creates a void in my vision,” Yvette told Ivanhoe.
The disease damages light-sensitive cells in the back of the eye, known as photoreceptors.
“Patients cannot see faces, they cannot read. So, they have a central blind spot,” explained Lejla Vajzovic, MD, retina specialist at Duke University School of Medicine.
But now, doctors at Duke Health are using a first-of-its-kind, cell-based implant designed to slow it down.
“It produces continuously a growth factor or protein that provides a healthy function for the retinal cells,” described Dr. Vajzovic.
The implant is small, about the size of a grain of rice; inside are more than 200,000 living cells.
“They stay in that implant, and then they produce the protein that permeates through that capsule and reaches the back part of the eye,” said Dr. Vajzovic.
It can’t restore vision, but it can protect what patients still have. For Yvette, that means everything.
“I want to continue my fabulous retirement life. I have yet to go to Alaska! I want to see the Northern Lights, that’s on my bucket list,” she told Ivanhoe.
The procedure is a one-day outpatient surgery. The cell-based implant is now FDA-approved. Specialists say the sooner it’s done, the better the chance of preserving sight.
The condition of MacTel is rare and affects the tissue around the macular whereas the more common condition of macular degeneration is age-related wear and tear of the macular.
Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Producer; Matt Goldschmidt, Videographer; & Roque Correa, Editor.
Source:
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-roundup-march-7-2025
* For More Information, Contact: Duke Eye Center
(919) 681-3937
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