Stem Cells Treating Blindness

How it works to perform the stem cell transplant researchers initially tested things out in blind mice.

Stem cells treating blindness.

Implantation of a specially engineered patch of retinal pigment epithelium rpe cells derived from stem cells has restored vision in the subjects both of whom are affected by wet age related macular degeneration amd. The team at karolinska institutet and st erik eye hospital reported this. Injecting treatment in to a blind eye carries low risks as eyes are encapsulated and wayward cells likely would not travel to other parts of the body. Researchers at karolinska institutet and st erik eye hospital in sweden have discovered a way to refine the production of retinal cells from embryonic stem cells for treating blindness in the.

Specialised cells in the eye serve specific functions to focus light and turn what is being seen into signals sent to the brain. The embryos were from ivf procedures and. In the study 18 patients with either disorder received transplants of retinal epithelial cells rpe made from stem cells that came from human embryos. Gilbert bernier has a plan to cure blindness.

Scientists in sweden have innovated a method of treating blindness using embryonic stem cells to produce retinal cells. His plan involves coaxing stem cells to become sheets of precious cone photoreceptors the eye s light sensitive cells and then transplanting them into blind eyes to restore vision. Mar 29 2017 the biology of treating blindness with stem cells dr. In 2006 nature published a paper describing how stem cells could be used to restore sight in blind mice.

Researchers hope the new procedure will also help in the future to treat dry amd and similar diseases of the retina. Italian researchers report that the stem cell procedure resulted in successful corneal transplantation in three fourths of patients with blindness in one or both eyes caused in most patients by. The eye contains several types of stem cells that constantly replace specialised cell that become worn out or damaged. Blindness caused by disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration are considered to be good candidates for stem cell therapies.

But researchers think it could work for other kinds of vision loss as well. This study and similar subsequent studies created a lot of excitement about the potential.