More Stem Cell Miracles promised

As we approach the end of 2009 with it we can take many successful new surgeries and the hope of many more to come, and no more predominant than in eye surgeries. This year has also seen a dramatic turn of events in the ever-growing use of stem-cells to treat various diseases, disorders and so on.

The London Project to Cure Blindness is the UK’s promising hope in this battle to reduce the number of people who are devastatingly affected by diseases such as age-related macular degeneration. In just two years the company hopes to be the world’s first blindness therapy helping put a stop to the ever rising number of people diagnosed with the leading cause of blindness in the elderly.

Unlike other stem-cell therapies, the surgery involves the use of embryonic stem cells from the patient themselves. They are then used to replace damaged cells within the retina but not just with one type of cell; scientists hope to be able to transplant both rod and cone cells to enable both vision at night and colour definition which rely on different types of these rod and cone cells. They also propose that the selection of some more mature stem cells have the potential to develop into photoreceptors and can form good connections with the brain.

With Britain leading at the front of this research and with the clinical trials involving humans to begin in two years, 2009 isn’t just the end of a successful year of improved eye care but the start of even more success stories.

27th December 2009

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