Eyesight is one of the most developed and important sense organs. 80% of what we perceive comes from our ability to see. Eye damage is next to a nightmare one can ever imagine. Loss of vision can have a huge negative impact on a person’s life, but stem cell therapy for an eye has given hope that loss of vision can be cured.
What is Eye Stem Cell Therapy?
Stem cell therapy for the eye is getting headlines as they are the potential to cure diseases for which there are no other treatments. Stem cell treatment for the eye is collecting a lot of attention because of its success rate.
Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona are developing a stem cell treatment for retinal degeneration.
Mesenchymal stem cells could offer several advantages for the treatment of eye diseases, including an ability to differentiate into retinal cells and to be grown outside the body CRG reports stated.
Holoclar® is currently the only clinically approved stem cell treatment for the eye. This treatment restores vision to patients with damaged corneas (the clear outermost part of the eye) by transplanting lab-grown limbal stem cells into areas of the eye lacking these cells.
What are the functions of Stem Cells in the eye?
Stem cells provide renewable or regeneration of tissues in the human body in response to any injury. Typically stem cells are present in all tissues of our body. Specialized cells in the eye serve explicit capacities to focus light and transform what is being seen into signals to transmit to the mind.
The variety of stem cells present in the eye helps to replace the damaged or worn-out cells. Even blinking damages the surface of eye but it a good thing that stem cell is present to replenish it.
Treatment of vision loss in the eye through stem cell therapy
Limbal stem cell helps in improvement of vision and if it is present in the eye then the treatment is taken forward.
Before treatment patients are carefully examined and have specific tests being carried out. After a comprehensive check-up, the correct treatment is selected.
People with corneal damage from chemical and thermal burns often have symptoms including light sensitivity, itching, and pain. These symptoms went away or were much less severe in the successfully treated patients.
Researchers are working to develop limbal stem cells from pluripotent stem cells so that people without limbal cells can be provided with stem cell treatment for an eye. If these cells, made from stem cells become successful then they may be able to restore vision in retinal disease.
Benefits of Eye Stem Cell Treatment
There are several areas of eyes on which reachers are being carried out to be treated with stem cells. Most active is the stem cell treatment for an eye with limbal cells. Eye stem cell treatment is being used to give vision power to visually challenged people. Stem cell therapy for the eye is cost-effective and in addition, has no or very minimal side effects.
Stem cells are no foreign bodies that are introduced in your body like antibiotics so there are no cases where they cause side effects.
Helps heal incisions and wounds. With the proper support of the system, they can regenerate and repair themselves.
Stem cell therapy for the eye is providing hope and courage to people who are visually impaired. Clinical trials have shown that the transplantation of limbal stem cells from a healthy eye helps to repair and restore vision. Although scientists are working to develop new methods for the treatment of the eye through stem cells.