NEW research by Edinburgh University has brought hope that millions of people who have lost their sight could ultimately have their vision restored using stem cells taken from the eyes of organ donors,
Eight patients with a common condition that destroys vision have had the affected area repaired thanks to the pioneering tissue transplant.
Now it is thought the revolutionary treatment may lead to a cure for blindness caused by damage to the cornea, the transparent front part of the eye.
It often becomes clouded in older people through injury or infection. In the developing world children and younger people are also increasingly prone. Study leader Baljean Dhillon, professor of clinical ophthalmology at the University of Edinburgh’s
Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, said: “The findings from this small study are very promising and show the potential for safe stem cell eye surgery as well as improvements in eye repair.”
Describing the breakthrough as a “world first”, Dhillon and his colleagues said it shows how eye damage can be fixed with stem cells from organ donors. The study has also produced new information on the causes of sight disorders.
The study, published in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine focused on limbal stem cells, which patients with corneal blindness typically lack.
These lie in the top layer of the cornea, the epithelium, and act as a barrier against dust and germs. Without this tissue the cornea becomes irregular, destroying vision and leaving the eye prone to infection.
It can result from damage caused by chemicals or heat, or a disease called aniridia. It leads to scarring and severe vision loss in both eyes as well as chronic pain and redness.
The team grew stem cells from cornea samples from donors. They split 16 patients into two groups and half received transplanted tissue. They were also given standard eye drops and immune system suppressing drugs to reduce the risk of rejection.
Those given the stem cells showed significant improvement in the ocular surface of their eyes – the outermost layer – over 18 months. This was not seen in the patients who only got the eye drops. It is the first time stem cells have been used in this way in a clinical trial.
Dhillon hopes the study’s results could lead to new ways to tackle other forms of blindness. In the UK alone there are almost two million people living with sight loss, with around 360,000 registered as blind or partially sighted.
He said: “Our next steps are to better understand how stem cells could promote tissue repair for diseases that are extremely hard to treat and if, and how, they could help to
restore vision.”
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