Stem cell therapy brings new hope to cat at risk of blindness

By Irem Demir

ISTANBUL (AA) - A cat named Lokum who was diagnosed with progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), a gradual progressive degeneration of the photoreceptor cells in the retina, causing gradual vision loss, began to show improvement after receiving two doses of stem cell therapy administered two weeks apart.

Ayse Alkan, who adopted the 5-year-old cat from the street, noticed a focus issue with Lokum and took the cat to the veterinarian.

During examinations, Lokum was diagnosed with PRA.

Alkan was informed that there was no cure for the disease and that her cat would eventually go blind.

In search of a solution, Alkan discovered that stem cell therapy, which is commonly used to treat humans, had recently been applied to animals as well.

After her research, she consulted Veterinary Surgeon Cem Perk.

Perk administered two doses of stem cell therapy to Lokum at a two-week interval.

Following the treatment, it was observed that Lokum's ability to recognize objects improved and there was noticeable progress in her vision.

- Success in orthopedic cases

Perk told Anadolu that Lokum is doing well and that the treatment should be repeated annually.

He noted that Lokum had symptoms like bumping into objects, difficulty perceiving things, exhibiting timid behavior in the dark and abnormal pupil dilation.

Perk said the clinic where Lokum was diagnosed with PRA had informed the owner that there was no cure, but with the introduction of stem cell therapy in veterinary medicine, this condition can now be treated.

He said this was the first time that stem cell therapy had been applied to a cat in Türkiye.

"The goal is to catch the disease during the stage when the pupils dilate and the animal becomes afraid of the dark and to prevent its progression through stem cell treatment," he said.

"Just as we’ve seen great success in orthopedic cases, we observed promising developments in this case, where we administered two doses for the first time," he added.

- Ray of hope in blindness treatment

Perk said that PRA, which occurs in cats and dogs, is characterized by a weakening of retinal function and the subsequent development of blindness.

"Since 2020, after successfully applying local stem cell therapies in orthopedic and neurological cases and general surgical conditions in veterinary medicine, we administered stem cells to a cat's eye for the first time in Türkiye," he said.

"This 'intravitreal' injection reaches the retina under simple anesthesia. This application has become a beacon of hope in blindness treatment. In Lokum, who received the treatment twice, we observed positive developments, such as improvement in the diminished pupillary reflex—meaning the reflex for pupil constriction and dilation—and better retinal blood vessel conditions upon examination with an ophthalmoscope," he added.

"In this context, this modern treatment method of stem cell therapy could be a ray of hope for animals suffering from PRA and at risk of blindness," he added.