Study: Stem cell transplants hold promise for blindness caused by chemical burns
By APWednesday, June 23, 2010
Stem cells reverse blindness caused by burns
LOS ANGELES — Italian doctors have restored sight to dozens of people blinded or injured by chemical burns using the patients’ own stem cells.
The treatment was successful in 82 out of 107 cases.
Researchers took stem cells from the patient’s healthy eye, grew them in the lab and placed them into the damaged eye. One man whose eyes were damaged more than 50 years ago now has near-normal vision.
The research involved patients with chemical burns. The same technique doesn’t work for people with macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness.
The study was released online Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine.
Tags: Diseases And Conditions, Eye health, Los Angeles, North America, United States, Vision Impairment And Blindness
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