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Rachel V Thomas

Bill Ackman’s Daughter Gets Experimental Treatment For Vision Loss: When Can Mitochondrial Transplants Help?

In a world first, an experimental treatment has been administered to a 26-year-old woman, the daughter of American hedge fund manager <span>Bill Ackman</span>, in which <span>mitochondria</span> from her leg were injected into her eyes.

While the treatment did not restore vision, it produced a temporary return of the pupils’ response to light, offering a potentially important finding, according to scientists from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in a paper published as a preprint on Research Square.

The eye study, posted as a preprint on August 10, has not yet undergone peer review. The treatment remains highly experimental and involved only one patient.

“It was my daughter. Mitochondria has amazing potential,” Ackman said in a post on X, adding that the family had seen a sustained benefit from the initial injection, although it was weaker than the immediate response.

<h2>Brain Hemorrhage Left Her Unable To See</h2>

In February this year, Ackman’s daughter Lucy collapsed in her Brooklyn apartment after suffering a brain hemorrhage, leaving her unable to move, speak or see, the billionaire said in a post on X.

While doctors performed emergency surgery, the injury damaged her optic nerve and left her unable to see. Her pupils also stopped responding to light.

Despite the progress in other areas, Lucy’s vision has remained severely affected.

After receiving emergency approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, doctors at Mount Sinai extracted mitochondria — the energy-producing structures inside cells — from Lucy’s leg muscle and injected them into the fluid of both eyes, according to Nature.

“Over the last six months, she has recovered her cognition – she understands everything including her circumstance – is able to walk a hundred or more steps at a time with assistance, is making progress with sounds, vowels and consonants and the beginnings of speech, but she remains unable to see,” Ackman said.

<h2><span rel="noindex">Mitochondrial Transplant</span> Showed Temporary Visual Response</h2>

The researchers reported that Lucy, who had optic nerve damage in both eyes for three months, received one mitochondrial injection in each eye, 24 hours apart.

Importantly, neither eye developed inflammation. Within days of the injections, her pupils began responding to light again — something that had not happened in 45 tests over the previous 71 days.

She also reported seeing shapes and shadows through her left eye.

However, the response faded after about four weeks, and the treatment did not restore normal vision.

“We are working on a method to inject her eyes with more frequency,” Ackman wrote on X.

<h2>When Can Mitochondrial Transplants Help?</h2>

According to the researchers, mitochondrial transplantation involves delivering healthy, functioning mitochondria into tissue where the mitochondria have been damaged.

The approach has been studied in the human heart and brain, but had not previously been used in the eye.  

"To our knowledge, this is the first administration of isolated mitochondria to the human eye. The procedure was performed to the filed specification in both eyes," the researchers said in the paper.

Retinal ganglion cells, which are involved in transmitting visual information from the eye to the brain, depend heavily on mitochondria to produce energy. In studies involving rodents, mitochondria injected into the vitreous — the gel-like substance inside the eye — have been taken up by these cells and improved their survival after optic nerve injury.

In Lucy’s case, the injection of her own mitochondria into the eyes was reported to be safe and was associated with the temporary return of pupillary responses to light. However, it did not restore normal vision, and the visual response faded after about four weeks.

Because the report involves only one patient and has not yet undergone peer review, much more research is needed to determine whether mitochondrial transplantation could eventually become a treatment for optic nerve damage or other forms of vision loss.

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In a world first, an experimental treatment has been administered to a 26-year-old woman, the daughter of American hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, in which mitochondria from her leg were injected into her eyes.While the treatment did not restore vision, it produced a temporary return of the pupils’ response to light, offering a potentially important finding, according to scientists from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in a paper published as a preprint on Research Square.The eye study, posted as a preprint on August 10, has not yet undergone peer review. The treatment remains highly experimental and involved only one patient.“It was my daughter. Mitochondria has amazing potential,” Ackman said in a post on X, adding that the family had seen a sustained benefit from the initial injection, although it was weaker than the immediate response.Brain Hemorrhage Left Her Unable To SeeIn February this year, Ackman’s daughter Lucy collapsed in her Brooklyn apartment after suffering a brain hemorrhage, leaving her unable to move, speak or see, the billionaire said in a post on X.While doctors performed emergency surgery, the injury damaged her optic nerve and left her unable to see. Her pupils also stopped responding to light.Despite the progress in other areas, Lucy’s vision has remained severely affected.After receiving emergency approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, doctors at Mount Sinai extracted mitochondria — the energy-producing structures inside cells — from Lucy’s leg muscle and injected them into the fluid of both eyes, according to Nature.“Over the last six months, she has recovered her cognition – she understands everything including her circumstance – is able to walk a hundred or more steps at a time with assistance, is making progress with sounds, vowels and consonants and the beginnings of speech, but she remains unable to see,” Ackman said.Mitochondrial Transplant Showed Temporary Visual ResponseThe researchers reported that Lucy, who had optic nerve damage in both eyes for three months, received one mitochondrial injection in each eye, 24 hours apart.Importantly, neither eye developed inflammation. Within days of the injections, her pupils began responding to light again — something that had not happened in 45 tests over the previous 71 days.She also reported seeing shapes and shadows through her left eye.However, the response faded after about four weeks, and the treatment did not restore normal vision.“We are working on a method to inject her eyes with more frequency,” Ackman wrote on X.When Can Mitochondrial Transplants Help?According to the researchers, mitochondrial transplantation involves delivering healthy, functioning mitochondria into tissue where the mitochondria have been damaged.The approach has been studied in the human heart and brain, but had not previously been used in the eye.  "To our knowledge, this is the first administration of isolated mitochondria to the human eye. The procedure was performed to the filed specification in both eyes," the researchers said in the paper.Retinal ganglion cells, which are involved in transmitting visual information from the eye to the brain, depend heavily on mitochondria to produce energy. In studies involving rodents, mitochondria injected into the vitreous — the gel-like substance inside the eye — have been taken up by these cells and improved their survival after optic nerve injury.In Lucy’s case, the injection of her own mitochondria into the eyes was reported to be safe and was associated with the temporary return of pupillary responses to light. However, it did not restore normal vision, and the visual response faded after about four weeks.Because the report involves only one patient and has not yet undergone peer review, much more research is needed to determine whether mitochondrial transplantation could eventually become a treatment for optic nerve damage or other forms of vision loss.

bill ackman’s daughter gets experimental treatment for vision loss: when can mitochondrial transplants help?

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Bill Ackman’s Daughter Gets Experimental Treatment For Vision Loss: When Can Mitochondrial Transplants Help?

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