Abstract

Adipose tissue-derived "stem cells" have been increasingly used by "stem-cell clinics" in the United States and elsewhere to treat a variety of disorders.We evaluated three patients in whom severe bilateral visual loss developed after they received intravitreal injections of autologous adipose tissue-derived "stem cells" at one such clinic in the United States.In these three patients, the last documented visual acuity on the Snellen eye chart before the injection ranged from 20/30 to 20/200.The patients' severe visual loss after the injection was associated with ocular hypertension, hemorrhagic retinopathy, vitreous hemorrhage, combined traction and rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, or lens dislocation.After 1 year, the patients' visual acuity ranged from 20/200 to no light perception.