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Stem Cells Restore Sight For Corneal Disease Patients

Posted by timothy on from the soon-it'll-be-saline-&-stem-cell-solution dept.

Sean0michael writes "Australian scientists have restored the sight of three human test subjects using stem cells cultured in contact lenses. All the patients were blind in only one eye. Two were legally blind, but can now read the big letters on an eye chart. The third could read the first few lines, but is now able to pass a driver's test. The University of New South Wales reports that these patients all had damaged corneas, and the stem cells came from each person's good eye. The best part: the procedure is inexpensive, raising hopes for being able to push this to the third world sooner than other, more expensive medications."

3 of 223 comments (clear)

  1. !embroyonic by bensafrickingenius · · Score: 5, Informative

    Again.

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    I am not left-handed, either!
    1. Re:!embroyonic by interkin3tic · · Score: 5, Informative

      Embryonic stem cells don't come from aborted fetuses. They come from in vitro fertilization. ESC are harvested 5 days after fertilization, abortions aren't performed 5 days after fertilization because you wouldn't know.

    2. Re:!embroyonic by pavon · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Which is to be expected. Controlling the differentiation of a cell is still not completely understood and difficult to do. It is easier with partially differentiated cells, and hence with stem cells from the tissue that we wish to regrow. Therefore, the first practical treatments and applications of stem cell research will be using adult stem cells.

      Where embryonic stem cells come into play is by helping understand this differentiation process better. Increasing our knowledge will enable us to develop treatments that aren't possible using adult stem cells, but it will also likely contribute to having safer more effective adult stem cell treatments treatments. It may even shed some light into the entire aging process and cell life-cycle. They are very important things to be studying.

      To put it succinctly, adult stem cells are currently at the R&D stage, embryonic at the pure science stage. Both are important.