People suffering from Stargardt's macular degeneration, where the retina cells at the back of eye are destroyed in early childhood may soon be able to have injections of embryonic stem cells with the hope of repairing damaged photo-sensitive cells.
Clinical trials have been given the go ahead, in only the second group of people in the world to receive stem cells derived from spare IVF embryos left over from fertility treatment. Pro-life groups are against the use of stem-cells taken from embrionic "potential human lives".
The trails could place take early next year and although they are designed to test the safety of the treatment in humans, improvement in the sight of patients may also become aparent within the first six weeks.
It is believed that medicine could be revolutionished by stem cell treatment due to their ability to repir tissue and organs with-in the body without need for transplant. Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer
of US technology firm Advanced Cell Technology, the company conducting the trails, said "We've tested these cells in animal models of eye disease. In rats, we've seen 100 per cent improvement in visual performance over untreated animals without any adverse effects,"
Click here to read the news story from The Independent
Tuesday 23 November 2010
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I was diagnosed with Stargardts Disease last winter, and this news looks very promising :)
ReplyDeleteArizona Eye Care would like to extend its warmest congratulation due to your heart-felt endeavor and hard work upon releasing this info. This would be very beneficial for all who have blindness cases.
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