Stem Cells Cure Blindness in Less Than a Month

Stem cell research is reporting a huge breakthrough in curing loss of vision. In a recent study where three sightless-to-near-sightless patients were given contact lenses cultured with stem cells, all three reported regaining their vision in less than a month.

Stem cells are present all over the body, and are defined by three basic characteristics: They divide and renew themselves for long periods of time, they are unspecialized, and they can become specialized. What that means is that they can self-renew and proliferate (in the case of embryonic stem cells, for up to a year) in a laboratory setting, and, though previously generic, can yield very specific types of cells, such as heart muscle or nerve.

Stem cell research came under fire because of the use of embryonic stem cells, which are extracted from embryos at the earliest stage of development. Proponents in the medical community were excited to do research with these cells, because of their unprecedented ability to self-renew for very long periods of time, and also because of their ability to regenerate areas that have degenerated in the body. What this means in layman's terms is that they are potential cure producers for myriad ailments. Opponents argue that it is not fair to halt the growth of a human embryo (the manner by which these cells must be extracted) in order to do research, and that it is tantamount to taking a humanlife.

As such, until recently, only non-embryonic stem cell research was funded by the United States government. However, soon after taking office, President Obama extended the funding for stem cell research to include embryonic stem cells, citing the imminently promising nature of embryonic stem cell research as taking precedent over possible moral conflicts.

The three patients each had one working eye of the two. After extracting stem cells from the working eye, the researchers cultured the cells in contact lenses for 10 days, then gave them to the patients to wear. After less than two weeks, the stem cells had begun repairing the corneas of the patients, thereby restoring their vision.

A year and a half later, the patients' results are still stable, with two of the three still able to read the top level of an eye chart. The third, who had previously been able to read only the top few lines of the eyechart without assistance, can now pass a driver's test.

All three patients were suffering from corneal disease prior to the treatment, but the researchers say that the treatment is not exclusively applicable to them, and that it could easily be applied to other visual disorders. In addition, the findings are exciting because they are so comparatively cheap and easy to do, meaning it could be easily exported to third-world countries.

"Stem Cells Used To Restore Sight For Corneal Disease Sufferers"

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25550134-2702,00.html

www.theaustralian.news.com.au

"What are the unique properties of all stem cells? [Stem Cell Information]"

http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics2.asp

stemcells.nih.gov