So what is current research focused on.
Stem cell cure for blindness.
Using stem cells to cure blindness coffey s team are developing treatments for amd based on transplanting new rpe cells made from human embryonic stem cells pictured into patients.
There is a treatment where stem cells are injected into the back of the eye to see if those stem cells will integrate into the retina and then replace lost cell types.
To perform the stem cell transplant researchers initially tested things out in blind mice.
Implantation of a specially engineered patch of retinal pigment epithelium rpe cells derived from stem cells has restored vision in the subjects both of whom are affected by wet age related macular degeneration amd.
Researchers hope the new procedure will also help in the future to treat dry amd and similar diseases of the retina.
In 2006 nature published a paper describing how stem cells could be used to restore sight in blind mice.
While this development is a huge development for stem cell technology the treatment is limiting as the stem cell therapy cannot treat dry age related macular degeneration which is the more common type.
Many common forms of blindness are the result of problems with photoreceptor cells.
Stem cells can act as a source of new healthy specialized cells and may provide a way to replace damaged cells in the eye.
There are several types of stem cells that could be used in different ways depending upon the particular disorder to be treated.
The stem cells were able to replace the damaged photoreceptors which are small important cells found in the retina.
Stem cell treatments replenish the supply of retinal pigment epithelial rpe cells that bring nutrients to the retina.
But the good news is that these types of blindness usually leave the optic nerve and other eye structures undamaged.
This study and similar subsequent studies created a lot of excitement about the potential.
