Stem cells and eyes

[Dave_46]

First some background.
I suffer from an eye condition called Keratoconus.

http://www.moorfields.org.uk/EyeHealth/Otherconditions/Keratoconus

This results in a thinning and distortion of the cornea, causing focussing problems that cannot be controlled with glasses. Consequently I wear rigid contact lenses - the front surface of the lens forming a regular surface to replace the front of the cornea.

On Xmas day I suffered a further event when the rear of the cornea in my right eye suffered a tear. This is not unknown I understand. It means that temporarily at least I cannot wear a lens in that eye, and as everything I see with that eye is badly blurred I am effectively one eyed at the moment

Now to the point.
One of the Doctors I saw at the hospital sort of hinted that in the future - ten years possibly - some sort of stem cell therapy may help to repair the cornea.
Does anyone on the forum have an opinion on whether this is likely ?

Dave

 

[TobiasTheViking]

CONCLUSIONS: It is suggested stem-like cells may be sequestered in a niche at the junctional region where the corneal endothelial cells and the trabecular meshwork come together. These putative stem cells may supply new cells for both the corneal endothelium and the trabeculae. Evidence suggests that cells from this area migrate (perhaps as transient amplifying cells) to the endothelial periphery and, perhaps, to wounded areas of the corneal endothelium when needed. The migration may not be constant and may be age dependent.

http://www.molvis.org/molvis/v11/a97/

CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested KGF-2 can stimulate the limbal epithelial stem cells to migrate to the central cornea. KGF-2 can accelerate the healing of alkali burned cornea.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...uids=15924701&query_hl=10&itool=pubmed_docsum

CONCLUSIONS: Systemically transplanted MSCs can engraft to injured cornea to promote wound healing, by differentiation, proliferation, and synergizing with haemotopoietic stem cells.

http://www.nature.com/eye/journal/v...l;jsessionid=26D856FAB8A18979E324F050CD10831D

How do we use stem cells to regenerate damaged retinal tissue? How do we prevent stem cell lineages contributing to retinal vascular disease? This review will briefly consider the principal stem cells in the mature eye but will focus in depth on limbal stem cells and corneal epithelium. It will further discuss their role in pathology and their potential for therapeutic intervention.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...serid=10&md5=d99ac33a11024990e6e894f16137f95c


And there are a lot of research(positive i might add) on rabbits and rats where they have stem cell depletion, and the researchers are trying to repair the eyes with stem cells(in some tests from humans).


As far as i can see they are mostly positive.

I am not sure if that relates at all to your situation, but i think so(since the procedure sounds like the same, and it did look like it repaired broken cornea.)

Sincerely
Tobias
I so hope i didn't overlook something and accidentally am giving false hope.

 

[Dave_46]

Tobias

Thank you. Those links do look interesting.

On re-reading my post I think I may have given the impression that things were worse than they are. I don't have anywhere near the medical problems that some on the forum have. I am able to function almost normally at work. Any practical work I do must be subject to an extra risk assessment to account for my monocular vision. Also the occupational health nurse has said that because I am not used to monocular vision I mustn't drive to and from work in the dark. I'm working short days at the moment.

Dave

 

[TobiasTheViking]

atleast that's something.

The part about not being that bad that is