- Image by GogDog via Flickr
Stem cells injected into the eyes of mice with defective corneas returned the corneas to a more normal appearance, a new study has found.
Researchers hope the procedure might one day be in humans. About 40,000 such transplants are done each year in the United States.
“The stem cells took the scar-like matrix, remodeled it and made it more like normal,” said senior investigator James Funderburgh, an associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh. “We were surprised and delighted.”
A report on the study is in the April 9 online edition of the journal Stem Cells.
The cornea is the transparent, front layer of the eye that serves as a protective barrier and, along with the lens, helps focus light. Corneas can develop scar tissue from chronic inflammation caused by infections or other conditions and by injuries, such as chemical or thermal burns or other trauma.
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