Blindness with human embryonic stem cells

Blind blind patients in the UK will participate in the first trial of eye treatment with human embryonic stem cell therapy in Europe.

Surgeons in the UK will conduct the first trial in patients with human embryonic stem cell therapy to make it a treatment approved by European regulators.

12 patients with incurable eye diseases are macular dystrophy Stargardt , one of the main causes of blindness in young people, will be injected with cells by surgeons at London Eye Eye Hospital. into the eyes.

In the UK, this treatment has been clinically tested and safety tested, approved by UK authorities in December last year. This test will lead to persuading approval in any country in Europe.

Health careers hope that by injecting healthy retinal cells into the patient's eye, it will reduce or reverse the effects of the disease. What is still controversial is because the retinal cells (RPE) used here are human embryonic stem cells.

Patients in the UK trial will receive between 50,000 and 200,000 cells in the back of the retina via a small needle that is carried out for about an hour. Only patients who have a prospect can be admitted to the trial.

Injected retina cells will help your eyes look back to normal (Photo: guardian)

Stargardt disease is an inherited disorder caused by vision loss through the eruption of retinal pigment epithelial cells in the center of the retina where the eye can see the images in the sharpest way.

The loss of RPE cells usually begins between the ages of 10 and 20 and leads to rods and cones sensitive to light in the eyes die. This eventually causes loss of vision and even blindness.

When the treatment work is successfully conducted, replacement RPE cells will develop and eventually restore the retina to a healthy state that can support the light-sensitive cells needed for eye.

'There are really potential prospects when people with retinal disorders cause blindness, including Stargardt's disease and age-related macular degeneration, which may benefit in the future from retinal cell transplantation. ' , James Bainbridge retinal surgeon at Moorfields Hospital and Ophthalmology Institute said.

Last year, Geron also began a trial of stem cell therapy to treat spinal cord injuries. Doctors hope that injecting stem cells directly into the spine will repair damaged nerve cells to help paralyzed people recover some movement.