First Year Results of Subretinal Mesenchymal Stem Cell Implantation in Severe Retinitis Pigmentosa

This study includes one-year results of 14 patients with severe Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) who had subretinal mesenchymal stem cell (ADMSC) implantation. The highest Visual Acuity (VA) in the study was 20/2000 and 7 of the patients had severe VA loss. The patients received subretinal ADMSCs after total vitrectomy. We observed no systemic complications. There were no ocular complications in 8 patients. Choroidal Neovascular Membrane (CNM) developed in one of the patients and intravitreal anti-VEGF injection was performed. The first six patients had Epiretinal Membrane (ERM) with peripheral tractional retinal detachment and received second vitrectomy. One of the patients experienced mild band keratopathy six months after the treatment and another patient had retrolental fibrous tissue at 1-year follow-up examination. Four patients showed VA gain during the first year. Subretinal implantation of ADMSCs may have some adverse effects and the patients should be followed up carefully. This study clarifies the side effects of the therapy which would enlighten future studies. Further studies with higher number of patients will be necessary to optimize the surgical procedure and to determine the benefits of this therapy.