Stem cells let blind see

Pioneering surgery with a British eye specialist - using human stem cells grown inside a laboratory and adopted to the eye - has restored the view of 40 patients with broken corneas.

Most of the patients treated by ophthalmic surgeon Mr Sheraz Daya and the team at East Grinstead Hospital in Sussex have been told they'd no hope of having their sight back, or had already gone through unsuccessful cornael transplants.

Mr Daya's technique involves taking stem cells from dead contributor, living relatives - or perhaps the patients themselves. Cells are grown within the laboratory until they form sheets after which placed on the top of cornea to assist it heal.

Particulars from the ground-breaking trial were revealed in an worldwide conference of eye specialists in the usa. All of the patients treated had experienced harm to the cornea - your window from the eye - through either illness or accidents including chemicals and fire.

Had little if any vision simply because they didn't have stem cells, or too couple of of these. Referred to as limbal cells, they are normally underneath the eye lid which help keep the top of cornea obvious and healthy, safeguarding it from damage.

Among the patients treated, Lawrence Sutcliffe, 31, from Inverness, states when Mr Daya hadn't operated on him, he'd be blind right now. He was registered blind and may recognise only light, not shapes, as he first visited see Mr Daya.

"I've got a degenerative condition that triggers bloodstream ships to develop over the cornea," he states. "I'd began getting problems within my 20s, but handled to cope with college and my MA before my sight began to deteriorate.

"Mr Daya changed the cornea within my left eye having a graft along with a stem cell transplant, and that i are in possession of 100 percent vision for the reason that eye. My right eye continues to be harder to deal with, but Mr Daya is positive that, with increased surgery, he is able to improve my vision for the reason that eye, too."

Mr Daya and the team have spent 5 years perfecting their technique. All of the patients within the trial had corneas which had become broken simply because they no more had limbal stem cells.

Later DNA research into the eyes of a few of the patients revealed interesting findings. After some time, some donor stem cells had disappeared - coupled with been changed by stem cells which were the patient's own.

Mr Daya thinks the stem cell transplant in some way triggered producing new limbal cells within the readers. "We believe the donor cells have triggered the bone marrow to create new cells, that have showed up in the eye with the blood stream."

Other British eye centres, including Moorfields working in london and also the College of Nottingham, happen to be developing stem cell technology but have to date not dealt with any patients.

For details about being a donor, contact East Grinstead Eye Bank, tel. 01342 414000, or even the United kingdom Transplant Authority, tel. 0845 6060 400.