New research may allow some very common degenerative eye conditions to be treated with a patient’s own stem cells. This new research was led by Dr. Kang Zhang, an ophthalmologist at the University of California, San Diego.

The procedure was performed on 12 infants under the age of 2 who had congenital cataracts. This form of cataracts is a clouding of the eye’s lens that occurs at birth. For people to see, both the lens and the cornea must be clear.

Current treatments for this form of cataracts include using artificial impacts or receiving a transplant. Both of which are significant procedures. The new treatment removes the children’s cataracts but preserves the lens epithelial stem/progenitor cells (LECs). This technique allows the eye to re-build the lens from the patient’s own stem cells over time.

After the procedure, the infant’s eyes have significantly healed within 4 weeks and their vision was much better than the infants who have received traditional forms of treatment.  Dr. Kang Zhang suggests that the research shows: “we can harness our own stem cells to regenerate a tissue or organ.” It is the first time that these stem cells have been used to regenerate a part of the eye.

Cataracts are very common condition and the most frequent cause of blindness around the world. Scientists estimate that more than 20 million people have invasive surgery to remove cataracts each year. The current invasive surgical procedure requires a cut to the lens capsule from which the cataract is removed. This leads to inflammation, damages the LECs in the eye and requires a longer healing period.

Researchers suggest that this new procedure will work for people of any age, but older patients may need a boost to their stem cells. This finding could completely change the way cataracts are repaired in the future, speeding up recovery time and improving results.

Source: Eye Lenses Regenerated Using Infants’ Own Stem Cells

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