Stem Cell Therapy Shows Promise For Rescuing Deteriorating Vision

For the millions of Americans whose vision is slowly ebbing due to degenerative diseases of the eye, the lowly neural progenitor cell may be riding to the rescue.

In a study in rats, neural progenitor cells derived from human fetal stem cells have been shown to protect the vision of animals with degenerative eye disease similar to the kinds of diseases that afflict humans. The new study appears March 28in the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) One.

The lead author of the study, University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher David Gamm, says the cells - formative brain cells that arise in early development - show "some of the best rescue, functionally and anatomically" of any such work to date. In animals whose vision would typically be lost to degenerative retinal disease, the cells were shown to protect vision and the cells in the eye that underpin sight.

The new findings are important because they suggest there may be novel ways to preserve vision in the context of degenerative diseases for which there are now no effective treatments. Macular degeneration, an age-related affliction that gradually destroys central vision, is a scourge of old age, robbing people of the ability to read, recognize faces and live independently....

Whole article: sciencedaily.com

Related articles

Scientists find new stemcell source - Scientists in Scotland say they've discovered a way to harvest stem cells from non-viable embryos (22.6.2007)

British researchers grow heart tissue from stem cells - British medical researchers have grown human heart tissue from stem cells in a breakthrough reported Monday that offers a possible solution to a shortage of donors for heart transplants (4.4.2007)

New Cell Type Identified In Cancer Development - Scientists have discovered a new type of cell that appears to play a role in the development of cancer -- a highly volatile, precancerous stem cell that can either remain benign or become malignant, depending upon environmental cues (21.3.2007)

Embryonic Stem Cells Turned Into Cerebellar Neurons By Chemical Cues - In order to differentiate and specialize, stem cells require very specific environmental cues in a very specific order, and scientists have so far been unable to prod them to go through each of the necessary steps (19.3.2007)

Mouse tests show stem cells treat brain disease - Human stem cells taken from both embryos and fetuses delayed a fatal brain and nerve disease in mice, moving throughout the brain to take on the jobs of damaged neurons, scientists reported on Sunday (15.3.2007)