First-in-human application of decellularized human amniotic membrane hydrogel as an injectable intraocular scaffold for large idiopathic full-thickness macular hole closure: four-month clinical outcomes

Description

Jakkrit Juhong and three colleagues report the first human use of an injectable gel made from processed amniotic membrane to close a large macular hole. Holes wider than 400 micrometres defeat standard surgery about forty percent of the time, and biological plugs are fiddly to place. The patient was a 62-year-old man with a stage 4 hole measuring 572 micrometres and vision of 20/200. After cataract and vitreous surgery with membrane peeling, the team injected the heat-sensitive gel through a soft cannula and sealed the eye with gas.

Bench tests had already cleared the gel's safety. Scans at one month showed the hole fully closed in the best pattern, with vision at 20/80. By four months vision reached 20/40, distortion had vanished, and the sensing layer was rebuilding on scans. Electrical testing confirmed working foveal responses. No eye complications appeared. A registered trial is running to test the method against standard care.

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Source: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/PMC13563838