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Meet the First Patient to Test Moran's Gene Therapy for AMD in Utah | John A. Moran Eye Center | University of Utah Health
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srcset="/moran/sites/g/files/zrelqx331/files/styles/wide_phone/public/media/images/2024/AMD%20patient-web.jpg?h=f648fa57&itok=y2aEZlH5" media="(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 638px)" type="image/jpeg"> <img class="coh-image coh-image-responsive-xl coh-image-responsive-lg coh-image-responsive-md coh-image-responsive-sm coh-image-responsive-ps coh-image-responsive-xs" gls-img data-src="public://media/images/2024/AMD patient-web.jpg" src="/moran/sites/g/files/zrelqx331/files/styles/wide_wide/public/media/images/2024/AMD%20patient-web.jpg?h=f648fa57&itok=Gb0yClR0" title alt="AMD patient" /> </picture> </div> <figcaption class="coh-container gls-text-meta gls-margin-small " > <span class="coh-inline-element gls-margin-xsmall-right gls-icon" gls-icon="icon: camera;"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-miterlimit="10" width="24" height="24" data-svg="camera"><circle cx="12" cy="13" r="5.5"></circle><circle cx="20" cy="9" r=".5"></circle><path d="M22,5.5h-3.1715736c-0.5304317,0-1.0391407-0.2107139-1.4142132-0.5857863l-1.8284264-1.8284273 C15.2107134,2.7107136,14.7020054,2.5,14.1715727,2.5H9.8284273c-0.5304327,0-1.0391407,0.2107136-1.4142141,0.5857863 L6.5857863,4.9142137C6.2107139,5.2892861,5.7020059,5.5,5.1715727,5.5H2C1.1715729,5.5,0.5,6.1715727,0.5,7v13 c0,0.8284264,0.6715729,1.5,1.5,1.5h20c0.8284264,0,1.5-0.6715736,1.5-1.5V7C23.5,6.1715727,22.8284264,5.5,22,5.5z"></path></svg></span> Kristine Marcroft is the first Utah patient to test a new gene therapy for AMD developed at the Moran Eye Center.</figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="coh-container ssa-component coh-component ssa-component-instance-fae01d83-f5f2-4992-8399-99b9ac58fce0 coh-component-instance-fae01d83-f5f2-4992-8399-99b9ac58fce0" data-lift-slot > <div class="coh-container gls-section gls-section-default default-size" style="padding-top: var(--section-xsmall-padding-vertical); padding-bottom: var(--section-xsmall-padding-vertical);" > <div class="coh-container gls-container gls-container-xsmall" > <div class="coh-container ssa-component coh-component ssa-component-instance-fb6b4ef6-e434-4a02-8907-02993b01539c coh-component-instance-fb6b4ef6-e434-4a02-8907-02993b01539c " data-lift-slot > <div class="coh-wysiwyg" > <p>Kristine Marcroft has so many good memories of times with her dad.</p> <p>She recalls how they wrangled sheep on their ranch in central Utah, found the best fishing spots, and toured scenic back roads. Her dad, Kristine says, was a voracious reader who taught her to pursue knowledge, to be her own person, and most of all to enjoy life.</p> <p>It was difficult to see him lose his eyesight in his golden years. Marcroft watched as her father and uncle, a physician, were blinded by the same disease: <a href="/moran/ophthalmology/retinal-diseases-surgery/macular-degeneration" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="6469207b-c4ef-4250-85e1-b686426a23ee" data-entity-substitution="canonical" title=" Age-Related Macular Degeneration ">age-related macular degeneration (AMD)</a>.</p> <p>Then, at the age of 60, Marcroft began her own struggle with AMD as it began to take away her central vision. She knew it was time to retire from a longtime career working at the Salt Lake County Jail when she couldn’t see documents clearly, even using a magnifying glass.</p> <p>When Marcroft heard patients were needed to test a new gene therapy for AMD developed at the <a href="/moran/home" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="9b1d6908-0420-45c0-9d3d-e857439984f5" data-entity-substitution="canonical" title="John A. Moran Eye Center">John A. Moran Eye Center’s</a> <a href="https://medicine.utah.edu/ophthalmology/research/centers/sctm">Sharon Eccles Steele Center for Translational Medicine</a> (SCTM), she thought about the risks. But she didn’t hesitate to volunteer.</p> <p>“I don’t want my children, grandchildren, or anyone else to have to deal with this,” says Marcroft, now 70. “It was a no-brainer, and I am going blind in that eye anyway.”</p> </div> </div> <div class="coh-container ssa-component coh-component ssa-component-instance-534b4ed4-8dc3-462b-99e0-85caa37f8b6b coh-component-instance-534b4ed4-8dc3-462b-99e0-85caa37f8b6b" > <div class="coh-container gls-margin-medium-bottom" > <div class="coh-row coh-row-xl coh-row-visible-xl" data-coh-row-match-heights="{"xl":{"target":"none"}}"> <div class="coh-row-inner coh-ce-cpt_2_column_layout-17802b86"> <div class="coh-column coh-visible-ps coh-col-ps-12 coh-col-xl" > <div class="coh-container ssa-component coh-component ssa-component-instance-09c07c73-5098-4f47-a12d-dcc31564dd0b coh-component-instance-09c07c73-5098-4f47-a12d-dcc31564dd0b " data-lift-slot > <div class="coh-wysiwyg" > <p>In June 2023, Marcroft joined patients in Texas and Boston participating in a study to evaluate the safety of <a href="https://healthcare.utah.edu/moran/news/2023/05/patient-testing-begins-new-amd-therapy-developed-moran">the new therapy</a>. She made history as the first patient to receive the therapy at Moran.</p> <p>Marcroft comes every few weeks for testing. She undergoes visual testing with an eye chart, extensive imaging of her eyes, and a dilated eye exam to inspect her retina.</p> <p>Led by <a href="https://medicine.utah.edu/faculty/gregory-s-hageman">Gregory S. Hageman, PhD</a>, SCTM researchers were the first to fully explain the genetics of a disease that can feel inescapable for some families. Genetic mutations on chromosomes 1 and 10 account for 90 percent of a person’s risk of developing AMD.</p> <p>Marcroft has chromosome 1 disease, the most common form. The SCTM therapy was injected into her eye.</p> <p>A second testing phase is expected to begin in late 2024 to evaluate how effective the therapy is at preserving vision. The hope: one day, a single injection can be given to people at high risk for AMD or in the early stages of the disease to stop it from progressing or maybe even prevent it.</p> <p>The SCTM isn’t stopping there. Its researchers have multiple therapies in their pipeline— including one for people with <a href="https://healthcare.utah.edu/moran/news/2022/03/moran-eye-centers-sctm-shares-amd-research-story-world">chromosome-10-driven AMD</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="coh-column coh-visible-ps coh-col-ps-12 coh-col-xl" > <div class="coh-container ssa-component coh-component ssa-component-instance-8a720981-a8b9-4672-b8a5-b7d400e07474 coh-component-instance-8a720981-a8b9-4672-b8a5-b7d400e07474" data-lift-slot > <div class="coh-container gls-container gls-flex " > <figure class="coh-container " > <div class="coh-container gls-inline" > <picture> <source srcset="/moran/sites/g/files/zrelqx331/files/media/images/2024/AMDgraphic.PNG" media="(min-width: 2400px)" type="image/png"> <source srcset="/moran/sites/g/files/zrelqx331/files/media/images/2024/AMDgraphic.PNG" media="(min-width: 1599px) and (max-width: 2399px)" type="image/png"> <source srcset="/moran/sites/g/files/zrelqx331/files/media/images/2024/AMDgraphic.PNG" media="(min-width: 1199px) and (max-width: 1598px)" type="image/png"> <source srcset="/moran/sites/g/files/zrelqx331/files/media/images/2024/AMDgraphic.PNG" media="(min-width: 959px) and (max-width: 1198px)" type="image/png"> <source srcset="/moran/sites/g/files/zrelqx331/files/media/images/2024/AMDgraphic.PNG" media="(min-width: 639px) and (max-width: 958px)" type="image/png"> <source srcset="/moran/sites/g/files/zrelqx331/files/media/images/2024/AMDgraphic.PNG" media="(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 638px)" type="image/png"> <img class="coh-image coh-image-responsive-xl coh-image-responsive-lg coh-image-responsive-md coh-image-responsive-sm coh-image-responsive-ps coh-image-responsive-xs" gls-img data-src="public://media/images/2024/AMDgraphic.PNG" src="/moran/sites/g/files/zrelqx331/files/media/images/2024/AMDgraphic.PNG" title alt="How the AMD gene therapy is designed to work" /> </picture> </div> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="coh-container ssa-component coh-component ssa-component-instance-e03db550-a140-4093-95ec-646f28a335c9 coh-component-instance-e03db550-a140-4093-95ec-646f28a335c9" data-lift-slot > <div class="coh-container coh-ce-cpt_standard_button_component-c5ddda05" > <a href="https://medicine.utah.edu/ophthalmology/research/centers/sctm" class="coh-link gls-button gls-button-primary default-size gls-width-1-1" target="_self" > Learn More About the Sharon Eccles Steele Center for Translational Medicine </a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="coh-container ssa-component coh-component ssa-component-instance-d61feab8-337b-44f3-99d4-6438d59fc21c coh-component-instance-d61feab8-337b-44f3-99d4-6438d59fc21c" data-lift-slot > <div class="coh-container gls-section gls-section-muted default-size" style="padding-top: var(--section-padding-vertical); 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Moran Eye Center FOCUS 2024</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="layout layout--uou--one--column gls-section gls-preserve-color gls-section-default gls-section-xsmall"> <div class="gls-container gls-container-xsmall"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:story:field_tags" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodestoryfield-tags"> <ul class="gls-subnav gls-margin"> <li><span class="gls-margin-small-right" gls-icon="tag"></span></li> <li><a href="/moran/news/tags/vision" hreflang="en">vision</a></li> <li><a href="/moran/news/tags/vision-research" hreflang="en">vision research</a></li> <li><a href="/moran/news/tags/age-related-macular-degeneration-amd" hreflang="en">age-related macular degeneration (AMD)</a></li> <li><a href="/moran/news/tags/clinical-trials" hreflang="en">clinical trials</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </main> </div> </div> <footer data-swiftype-index="false" 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