Stem cells reverse blindness caused by burns

[Rage for Order]

Source: Associated Press

Dozens of people who were blinded or otherwise suffered severe eye damage when they were splashed with caustic chemicals had their sight restored with transplants of their own stem cells — a stunning success for the burgeoning cell-therapy field, Italian researchers reported Wednesday.

The treatment worked completely in 82 of 107 eyes and partially in 14 others, with benefits lasting up to a decade so far. One man whose eyes were severely damaged more than 60 years ago now has near-normal vision.

In the study, published online by the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers took a small number of stem cells from a patient's healthy eye, multiplied them in the lab and placed them into the burned eye, where they were able to grow new corneal tissue to replace what had been damaged. Since the stem cells are from their own bodies, the patients do not need to take anti-rejection drugs.

Adult stem cells have been used for decades to cure blood cancers such as leukemia and diseases like sickle cell anemia. But fixing a problem like damaged eyes is a relatively new use. Researchers have been studying cell therapy for a host of other diseases, including diabetes and heart failure, with limited success.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100623/ap_on_he_me/us_med_stem_cells_blindness

[izquierdista]

1. But can it cure teh stoopid?

If it does, Republicans are in big trouble -- there goes their base.

[Rage for Order]

2. It doesn't appear so...

The stem cells in question were taken from the patients' own healthy eyes. Using this technique the researchers would take Republicans' own healthy "stupid cells" and implant them in Republicans' brains, allowing them to regain their original level of stupidity.

:)

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. That is so incredible!

[pezDispenser]

4. great news!

imagine how much further we could have been along this path without an 8 year handicap.

[Rage for Order]

5. This advance was from research utilizing adult stem cells, not embryonic

Research was never impeded on adult stem cells

[pitohui]

6. yah but what if both eyes were burned? this is at least teaching something

to me it's a big WOW! the next step would be if something happens to both eyes, which must happen fairly often in serious accidents, if there's no healthy eye to get stem cells from, but there are embryonic stem cells...would they be able to create a new eye for the accident victim?

we have to start somewhere and this is only a start, obv. the big goal isn't helping people w. one healthy eye to regain vision in the other eye, while that's nice, the BIG goal is to eventually learn enough that people who have zero healthy eyes at the start can see

i have a relative who was blind in one eye for decades, before getting it fixed (laser surgery in her case), it's cool, but one blind eye is not near the handicap that two blind (or two legally blind) eyes is...this is just the start i'm thinking...