Stem Cell Treatment To Cure the Most Common Cause of Blindness

The Times Online reports that researchers from the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London and Moorfields eye hospital have developed stem cell therapy that can treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of blindness. They are currently moving the treatment through the regulatory approval process, and clinical trials are expected to start within two years. Quoting: "Under the new treatment, embryonic stem cells are transformed into replicas of the missing cells. They are then placed on an artificial membrane which is inserted in the back of the retina. ... [Professor Pete Coffey, director of the London Project to Cure Blindness] said the treatment would take 'less than an hour, so it really could be considered as an outpatient procedure. We are trying to get it out as a common therapy.'

Comments

Re:Vampirism

[Jafafa Hots]

To the mod who modded me offtopic, how is discussion of stem cells off topic in an article on stem cells?

Fucking coward, if you don't like what I'm saying at least have the balls to mod correctly or respond via comment.

Re:There are politics to this

[Ralph Spoilsport]

So if you're opposed to the manner in which the research was done, you shouldn't be allowed to benefit from the resulting medical treatment? Interesting. Well, I hope that if you're ever rescued from some mountainside with severe frostbite and hypothermia, you won't mind being allowed to die.

Because an awful lot of our knowledge of how the human body responds to extreme cold originates from research done by the German military, the better to treat their casualties on the Eastern front. I'll give you one guess where they got their research subjects.

what you wrote is completely incoherent and bass ackwards presumptuous. I have no problem with where knowledge is produced. we learned a lot about knives from hacking each other up. doesn't mean I'm going to cut my veggies with a spoon...

So what the fuck is your point? Mine is simple: if you don't like how something is made, then don't use it.

People who decry stem cell research should not be permitted the benefits of the research. What I wrote was OBVIOUS blowback from the anti-stem cell position. That I've been rated flamebait goes to show the disposition of the mod, not my point.

RS