Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Stem cell Therapy to Benefit Blind

Submitted by Jayden Roberts on Tue, 06/29/2010

Italian researchers have reported that about 12 people have regained their sight in a successful experiment conducted with some partly blind and severe eye damage suffering people. This was revealed in a study published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

This is a remarkable success that will encourage the cell-therapy, which is done by transplanting cells from one’s own body to other parts. It has been claimed that the treatment has proved winning in 82 of 107 eyes. Also, it was partially complete in 14 others eyes. The benefits of the treatment are expected to last till 10 years after the process.

It is also noticeable that one man, who had been blind for more than five decades, have also completely restored his visual capacity. Appreciating the success, Ophthalmologist Ivan Schwab of the University of California praised and congratulated the team.

If the stem cell transplants become popular and are implemented even more, they can also prove helpful for the people who are affected by chemical burns on their corneas from heavy-duty cleansers and other chemicals. This will be a great help for people who have to suffer eyesight loss due to such mishaps.

However, the stem cell approach is not capable to treat optic nerve or macular degeneration, which is caused due to the damage in retina, as the treatment requires a few healthy tissues that can be transplanted.

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