Thursday, January 31, 2008

Stem cells for repairing eye damage


I find it pretty interesting that this Scientific American report [will it also appear on the print version?] highlighting research at L.V. Prasad Eye Institute happens to be out on the opening day the All India Ophthalmological Conference.

Here's an excerpt:

A new vision research center opening in India today becomes the latest in a handful of facilities dedicated to exploring the potential of adult eye stem cells to repair vision damage. The Champalimaud Center for Translation Eye Research (C-TRACER), part of the LV Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad, India, will continue research begun by LV Prasad scientists, who use eye stem cells from living adults to grow new cells that are then implanted into damaged

The center's goal is to restore vision to some portion of the 65 million people worldwide—about 1 percent of the world population—considered to be legally blind, which the National Federation of the Blind defines as a central visual acuity of 20 / 200 or less in the stronger eye, even when aided by a corrective lens. Especially in developing countries in Africa and Asia, "most of these people are needlessly blind," says D. Balasubramanian, research director for both LV Prasad and the new facility.

2 Comments:

  1. Anonymous said...

    That's just great news! I have always been horrified by retinitis pigmentosa - the idea that someone can go blind slowly and there's no cure in the world is so awful.

  2. Anonymous said...

    DBS is the cool Hindu columnist, is he not?