Stem cells to cure blindness
2009-04-20 10:17
Cape Town - British scientists have made a major scientific breakthrough by developing a stem cell therapy to cure blindness, Times Online reported on Sunday.
The treatment, which involves replacing a layer of degenerated cells with new ones created from embryonic stem cells, will become generally available within six or seven years' time.
Pioneered by scientists and surgeons from the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London and Moorfields eye hospital, the treatment will tackle age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of blindness, which involves the loss of eye cells.
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.
'Coming of age'
Lead scientist Prof Pete Coffey of University College London 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".
Team member Peng Khaw of Moorfields Hospital added: "This shows that stem cell therapy is coming of age. It offers great hope for many sufferers around the world who cannot be treated with conventional treatment."
According to Times Online, Pfizer, the world's largest pharmaceutical research company, will announce its financial backing to bring the therapy to patients, this week.
Embryonic stem cells have the ability to develop into all types of body tissue. Their use is controversial, however, because it involves the destruction of human embryos.
Laboratory trials completed by the British team have demonstrated that stem cells can prevent blindness in rats with a similar disease to AMD. They have also successfully tested elements of the technology in pigs.
The clinical trial, due within two years, is expected to be the second in the world to use embryonic stem cells on humans. The first, on patients with spinal cord injuries, will start this year in America, Times Online reports.