Remodelling the eye - latest developments in
preventing blindness
At the Bristol Eye Hospital, in the South West of England, researchers
from the University of Bristol
have made an exciting discovery that could result in 'remodelling' cells
in the eye. This could have a
major impact on eye damage that results from disease of the retina.
For most of us, the first thing we think of when considering our
perception of the world around us, is our
sight. So any impairment of sight or damage to the eyes can be
particularly traumatic. A common cause of
blindness results from disease in the retina.
In the brain, stem cells – or neural progenitor cells as they are also
known – can be ‘switched on’ to
generate a range of cell types required to repair damage to the brain.
But although the retina consists of
neural (nerve) tissue that is similar to the brain, it has always been
understood that it does not contain
progenitor cells that could be made to help repair the eye.
Professor Andrew Dick, Head of Bristol University’s Division of
Opthalmology, found this difficult to
accept and, as a consequence, he and his research team have recently
reported the first evidence of
progenitor cells in the retina. This is an extremely important landmark
that might ultimately lead to a whole
new area of
treatment for retinal disease.
Already they have a research programme that has been able to grow
progenitor cells from biopsies of
human retina. They are now looking at what conditions are required to
turn them into various cell types
such as nerve cells or photo receptor cells. If they can understand
that, then they are well on the way to
controlling eye disease by helping the injured retina to restore itself.
Source: University of Bristol
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"Remodelling the eye - latest developments in preventing blindness."
PHYSorg.com. 18 Jan 2005.
www.physorg.com/news2725.html
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