Embryonic Stem Cell Can Cure Blindness
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Human embryonic stem cell can repair damaged retinas and cure blindness, according to a British study.
They believe the technique is capable of restoring vision in the vast majority of patients with age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness among the elderly that afflicts around 14 million people in Europe.
The disease is caused by faulty retinal pigment epithelial cells, which form a supporting carpet under the light-sensitive rods and cones in the retina.
The new procedure will generate replacement retinal pigment epithelial cells from stem cells in the lab, with surgeons then injecting a small patch of new cells, measuring 4 by 6 millimeters, back into the eye.
Surgeons at Moorfields have already restored the vision of a few patients using cells harvested from their own eyes, which were moved to a new site. But this process is complicated and only a small number of cells can be moved, limiting its use.
“If it hasn’t become routine in about 10 years it would mean we haven’t succeeded,” he told reporters. “It has to be something that’s available to large numbers of people.”
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