Titre | Outcomes of allogenic cultivated limbal epithelial stem cells in aniridia patients |
But | To assess the results of transplanting allogenic cultivated limbal epithelial stem cell grafts in aniridia patients suffering from severe limbal stem cell deficiency. |
Méthodes | Between January 2010 and March 2017 six aniridia patients with severe limbal stem cell deficiency received an allogenic cultivated limbal stem cell graft at the Antwerp University Hospital. The limbo-amnion grafts were generated by cultivating limbal epithelial stem cells from HLA-matched living related (n=5) or cadaveric (n=1) donor eyes on a standardized amniotic membrane. Post-operative corneal surface stability, visual outcomes and complications were assessed. Anatomical outcome was graded as ‘total success’, ‘partial success’ or ‘failure’. |
Résultats | One patient was excluded because of loss to follow-up. The mean follow-up of the remaining patients was 47,8 months (range 11 – 104 months). In all of the patients there was an improvement in clinical signs early post-operatively, which slowly regressed during the follow-up course. At the final follow-up, two patients were graded as partial success and three patients were graded as failure. None of the patients experienced a total anatomical success. In only one of the patients there was a modest improvement in BCVA from hand movements to counting fingers. One of the eyes was complicated by acorneal ulcer 16 months post-operatively. |
Conclusion | Severe limbal stem cell deficiency in aniridia remains a challenging condition to manage. Transplantation of allogenic ex vivo cultivated limbal stem cells in aniridia patients may provide a temporarily improvement in ocular surface stability, but the anatomical and functional results are poor on the long-term. |
Conflit d'intérêt | Non |
Nom | BEHAEGEL |
Initiales | JB |
Institut | UZA |
Ville | Edegem |
Nom | Carina Koppen |
Initiales | CK |
Institut | UZA |
Ville | Edegem |
Nom | Nadia Zakaria |
Initiales | NZ |
Institut | UZA |
Ville | Edegem |
Nom | Tassignon |
Initiales | MJT |
Institut | UZA |
Ville | Edegem |
Nom | Sorcha Ní Dhubhghaill |
Initiales | SND |
Institut | UZA |
Ville | Edegem |