 In a groundbreaking study, researchers have succeeded in improving the vision of four patients with significant chemical burns in one eye. According to the study published in Science Advances, the patients who were followed for 12 months experienced restored cornea surfaces – two could undergo a corneal transplant, and two reported significant improvements in vision without additional treatment. The improvement is thanks to a revolutionary stem cell treatment called cultivated autologous limbal epithelial cell transplantation (CALEC). In this approach, stem cells from a patient's healthy eye are removed and then expanded and grown on a graft. After two to three weeks, the graft is transplanted into the eye with corneal damage. 'Our early results suggest that CALEC might offer hope to patients who had been left with untreatable vision loss and pain associated with major cornea injuries,' said the study's principal investigator Dr Ula Jurkunas. 'Cornea specialists have been hindered by a lack of treatment options with a high safety profile to help our patients with chemical burns and injuries that render them unable to get an artificial cornea transplant. We are hopeful with further study, CALEC can one day fill this crucially needed treatment gap.' People who experience chemical burns and other eye injuries may develop limbal stem cell deficiency, an irreversible loss of cells on the tissue surrounding the cornea. Dr Ula Jurkunas at monitor with researchers in her laboratory (Picture: Mass Eye and Ear) These patients experience permanent vision loss, pain and discomfort in the affected eye. Without limbal cells and a healthy eye surface, patients are unable to undergo artificial cornea transplants, the current standard for restoring vision. The new method aims to address limitations in existing treatment by using a small amount of a patient's own){kind=link}
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In a groundbreaking study, researchers have succeeded in improving the vision of four patients with significant chemical burns in one eye.
According to the study published in Science Advances, the patients who were followed for 12 months experienced restored cornea surfaces – two could undergo a corneal transplant, and two reported significant improvements in vision without additional treatment.
The improvement is thanks to a revolutionary stem cell treatment called cultivated autologous limbal epithelial cell transplantation (CALEC).
In this approach, stem cells from a patient’s healthy eye are removed and then expanded and grown on a graft. After two to three weeks, the graft is transplanted into the eye with corneal damage.