A breakthrough procedure using ordinary contact lenses and a patient’s own stem cells promises to cure corneal blindness, according to Australian researchers at the University of New South Wales.
The revolutionary procedure, which is simple and inexpensive, may cure millions worldwide because it can be performed even in poor countries. In the United States, more than 4 million people have corneal disease, the fourth-most-common cause of blindness, and more than 44,000 corneal transplants are performed annually.
The procedure can be performed under local anesthetic, and the patient can go home in two hours. Small samples of stem cells are taken from the patient’s eyes, then grown on an extended-wear contact lens for 10 days.
The contact lens is inserted in the patient’s eye, and the stem cells attach to the cornea within about two weeks and replenish damaged cells. The lens is then removed, leaving the patient with “new eyes.”
Several patients are still reporting success with the new treatment after 18 months. Two patients who were legally blind can now read large letters on an eye chart. Another patient who was visually impaired is now able to pass the eye test for a driver’s license.
Lead researcher Dr. Nick Di Girolamo of the University of New South Wales told the United Kingdom’s Daily Mail, “The procedure is totally simple and cheap. Unlike other techniques, it requires no foreign human or animal products, only the patient’s own serum, and is completely noninvasive. There’s no suturing, there is no major operation. You don’t need any fancy equipment.”
Source: NewsMax
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