The progress in the treatment of Retinopathy of Prematurity

Wu Medical Center (WMC) is offering the following treatment plan for patients with Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) at stage 4-5. For ROP patients at stages 4-5 who do not respond well to conventional treatments, this novel therapeutic stem cell treatment can be considered. Over the past decade, WMC has treated a significant number of ROP cases at stage 4-5, using mesenchymal stem cells, nerve stem cells, and CAST therapy combined together as a whole treatment, all of which have shown varying degrees of improvement. And in some cases, as the kids grow up, their vision has approached normal levels. This offers a new and effective treatment method for children blinded by ROP stage 4-5.

Mechanism of Treatment:
CAST therapy can reduce the pathological environment in the fundus, enabling the transplanted stem cells to survive and function. Mesenchymal stem cells can differentiate into retinal cells, repair retinal damage, initiate retinal development, and inhibit fibrosis. Nerve stem cells can differentiate into photoreceptor cells, repair macular lesions, restore unipolar conduction and tight junctions, and enhance the function of the optic nerves. This comprehensive stem cell therapy can significantly improve the vision of affected children.

About Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a disease of the eye affecting prematurely born babies generally having received neonatal intensive care, in which oxygen therapy is used because of the premature development of their lungs. ROP can be mild and may resolve spontaneously, but it may lead to blindness in serious cases.

Causes and Pathophysiology of ROP：
Premature infants are born with underdeveloped retinal blood vessels. Premature birth, low birth weight, oxygen toxicity, or hypoxia can cause damage to capillary endothelial cells, and result in vascular occlusion, which will stimulate fibrous tissue to proliferate, thereby probably leading to scar formation and retinal detachment. There are 5 different stages of ROP, depending on how severe the damage is. There is only mild damage for ROP stage 1-2, with probably only some disease trace left, and patients generally have healthy vision. Fibrous tissue proliferation can happen in stage 3 and 50% of the cases would develop into more severe stage 4, resulting in visual impairment and even blindness. And there can be partial retinal detachment at stage 4. Cases involving the macula can cause serious visual impairment. Complete retinal detachment would happen in stage 5 patients. They will lost their vision and some of them would be blind during their whole life.

Treatment:
Stage 3 is a critical time window for treatment, and timely intervention, such as repairing the retina and macula, can help control the disease progression. Although surgery can be done for Stage 4-5 patients, but the visual improvement from it is limited. Most kids will develop complete blindness. Now the new retinal repair and regeneration treatment can help repair retinal damage and significantly improve patient’s vision, bringing new hope to them.

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