The first phase of trials is being carried out at present on 10 patients
LV Prasad hospital doctors find stem cell cure to cornea blindness
Hyderabad: Stem cells retrieved from the area between the white and black part of an eyeball can restore the sight in those who have lost their vision due to corneal blindness, indicates a research carried out by doctors at the LV Prasad Eye Hospital in collaboration with Professor James Funderburgh, professor of ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, USA.
The first phase of trials is being carried out at present on 10 patients at the LV Prasad Eye Hospital and the results have been very encouraging. Dr Sayan Basu, consultant corneal surgeon and scientist, said, “There are 1,40,000 cases of corneal blindness in India.
This happens because of scarring or whitening of the cornea. This happens due to infection, poke in the eye, injury, accident or any other trauma to the eye. When this scarring happens, patients lose vision.”
Currently, the treatment is corneal transplant where a donor cornea is required and 25 stitches in the eye are needed. The risk of infection and rejection by the body is very high.
The cornea lasts for six to eight years as the body’s immune system later attacks it.
Due to these issues, scientists have been looking at stem cells and they have found that the tissues in the region between the black and white parts of the eyeball have cells that re-grow and help restore vision.
With phase 1 to be complete by March 2015, and the results being encouraging, the hospital will involve 50 people in phase II of human trials. Dr Basu said, “The system, once standardised after these processes, will be available for the public in three years time. We are keeping our fingers crossed as animal studies and phase 1 is encouraging. We need to fix the dosage and the extent of scarring that would require this treatment.”
( Source : dc correspondent )
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