Stem cell contact lenses cure blindness in study
Here’s something that people with poor or no vision will be excited about: three patients had their sight restored in less than a month by contact lenses cultured with stem cells.
All three patients were blind in one eye. The researchers extracted stem cells from their working eyes, cultured them in contact lenses for 10 days, and gave them to the patients. Within 10 to 14 days of use, the stem cells began recolonizing and repairing the cornea.
This is reported by the University of New South Wales in Australia and the implications couldn’t get bigger. As I understand it, the technique was developed to treat damage to the cornea resulting from disease, burns, or chemotherapy. They are investigating the technique to handle other optic issues. Stellar work, folks!
The 3 people in the study, by the way, have all retained their improved eyesight for 18 months. One of them recovered enough eyesight to pass the vision test to drive again. That’s some great news!
I’d also point out that this is yet another example of the kind of results being derived from stem-cell research that has nothing to do with embryonic stem cells. There’s no ethical issue, here, and because the cells are harvested from the patient themselves, there’s no immune issues, either. No where in my side of the blogosphere have I read anyone (who knows about this at all) who says anything but the most glowing praise for it. This will, if our colleagues on the left will be honest about it, completely torpedo the bogus argument that conservatives are “against stem cell research.” We’re not. It’s the embryonic part – and most specifically how they’re acquired – that’s the problem.
This is the kind of research that we should be pursuing. It would appear that it’s got enough potential to be attracting its own funding, too, which is good. I hope to hear lots more about this and real soon.
