Stem cells offer the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat a myriad of diseases, conditions, and disabilities including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, spinal cord injury, stroke, Cerebral palsy, Battens disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, restoration of vision and other neuro degenerative diseases as well.

The retina, like many other regions of the nervous system, is subject to various inherited and acquired degenerative conditions. One of the most common is age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD retinal changes are present in approximately 10% of people older than 65 and as many as one in three people older than 80.