4 December: Stemming Vision Loss With Stem Cells - Seeing is Believing
4 December 2006
Professor Pete Coffey – UCL Institute of Ophthalmology
The London Project to Cure Blindness aims to make the most of human
embryonic stem cells to prevent blindness, restore sight, and improve
quality of life in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
within five years from the initiation of the programme (2007). Our goal
is to replace cells essential for “seeing” lost by disease at the back
of the eye. We aim to repair and regenerate the aged diseased eye using
human embryonic stem cells which have been transformed into the cells
affected in AMD: the support cells for the photoreceptors (retinal
pigment epithelium) and the photoreceptors. The cells will be
surgically implanted into a clinical population of AMD patients.
