Dr. Jordi Monés presents developments in the treatment of dry AMD and steam cells at the Retina Meeting in Santiago de Compostela

Dr. Jordi Monés, the ophthalmologist specialising in macula, retina and vitreous and the Medical Director of the Barcelona Macula Foundation: Research for Vision, will present the most important developments in the fields of clinical trials and the use of stem cells at the Retina Meeting in the Galician town of Santiago de Compostela on 17-18 April.

Dr. Monés will moderate and participate in the round table entitled “Developments in Age-Related Macular Degeneration” in which he will analyse the progress being made in treatment of the pathology’s dry or atrophic type.  Pharmacological progress has radically changed the prognosis in the exudative forms of macular degeneration although the atrophic forms remain without a cure. 

The research being conducted on animal experimental models includes regenerative therapy with stem cells of different origins. Similarly, gene therapy (genetic manipulation) has corrected some defects in diseases that cause blindness. There has also been progress in stem cells that, after being  obtained from the patient him/herself, are manipulated genetically to correct their defects and then reintroduced. In his final talk, Dr. Monés will provide further detail on the role stem cells can play in these pathologies.