Fetal tissue helps restore partial vision in the blind.Byline: ANI Washington, Oct 21 (ANI): In a novel study, researchers have successfully improved vision in people with blinding eye diseases by transplanting fetal tissue in the eye. Another experiment showed that retinal prosthesis prosthesis (prŏs`thĭsĭs): see artificial limb. prosthesis Artificial substitute for a missing part of the body, usually an arm or leg. could also restore some vision in patients with blinding eye disease. The researchers focussed their study on two degenerative eye diseases retinitis pigmentosa Retinitis Pigmentosa Definition Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) refers to a group of inherited disorders that slowly lead to blindness due to abnormalities of the photoreceptors (primarily the rods) in the retina. and age-related macular degeneration Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) Degeneration of the macula (the central part of the retina where the rods and cones are most dense) that leads to loss of central vision in people over 60. . The study led by Dr Robert B. Aramant showed that transplanted "sheets" of fetal retinal cells improve visual acuity in several people with retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. Researcher Jessy Dorn showed that retinal prosthesis could restore partial vision to people who are totally blind. The prosthesis was made of an array of electrodes and transmits visual information captured by a video camera. The researchers also reported that engineered, light-sensitive proteins restored vision in a mouse study of retinitis pigmentosa, something that would lead to new treatments for people with degenerative retinal diseases. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2009, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience For other uses, see SFN (disambiguation). The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is a professional society for basic scientists and physicians around the world whose research is focused on the study of the brain and nervous system. . (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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