Artificial corneas restore sight
Revolution In Petri Dish: Twin Breakthroughs Raise Hope For Millions
London: Lab-grown artificial corneas have been transplanted into patients’ eyes
for the first time, offering hope to millions of partially sighted people.
The new technique involves growing human tissue or collagen in the lab and
then shaping it, using a contact lens mould.
Damaged and scarred tissue from the front of the eye is then removed and the
“biosynthetic” replacement is stitched in its place, reports the Telegraph.
Ultimately, existing cells and nerves in the eye grow over the artificial
cornea, incorporating it fully into the eye.
Globally, diseases that lead to clouding of the cornea affect more than 10
million people, making them the most common cause of blindness.
The first trials of the operation have shown that it is just as successful
as live tissue transplantation and in some cases patients have had their sight
fully restored.
May Griffiths, of Linkoping University, Sweden, who led the study, said: “We
were very excited by the results. The study is the first to show that an
artificially fabricated cornea can integrate with the human eye and stimulate
regeneration.”
“With further research, this approach could help restore sight to millions
of people who are waiting for a donated human cornea for transplantation,”
Griffiths added.
The cornea is a vulnerable shield or lens protecting the eye and plays a key
role in creating vision. Patients did not experience any rejection reaction or
require long-term immune suppression, which are serious sideeffects associated
with the use of human donor tissue. IANS
NEW VISION: Researcher May Griffith displays a biosynthetic cornea that can be
implanted into the eye to restore sight SK
Voice your thoughts in the blog to discuss the Rights of persons with
disability bill at:
http://www.accessindia.org.in/harish/blog.htm
To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with
the subject unsubscribe.
To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please
visit the list home page at
http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
