Pioneering stem cell therapy restores sight

A new stem cell therapy has been used to restore sight in a mutilated eye. A medical team in the U.K. extracted stem cells from the healthy eye of Russell Turnbull and then used the cells to seed a patch of amniotic tissue, which is used to treat burn victims. The team then applied the stamp-sized membrane of new stem cells to Turnbull's bad eye, which had been damaged after a man squirted ammonia into it nearly 15 years ago.

Over a period of two months, the transplanted membrane gradually disintegrated, leaving the healthy stem cells behind. The transplanted cells helped to repair Turnbull's cornea, leaving it nearly as good as it was before the attack.

"The pain and discomfort were better almost immediately and I started to get my sight back a month or so later," said Turnbull. "I used to be able to see only the largest letter at the top of the eye chart, but now I can pick out letters on the bottom row."

Doctors plan to test the pioneering therapy, which was developed at the North East England Stem Cell Institute, on 25 more patients before reporting results to the country's healthcare authorities. The procedure could be approved for reimbursement as early as 2010.

- here's the story from The Guardian

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