Retinal cell transplant: see how they see.Retinal cell transplant: See how they see By transplanting retinal cells from healthy rats into the eyes of diseased rats, two teams of researchers have for the first time treated a blinding condition in the animals. James E. Turner and Linxi Li at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., worked with rats suffering from retinal dystrophy. Their results were confirmed by Peter Gouras of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, abbreviated P&S, is a graduate school of Columbia University located on the health sciences campus in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . After removing defective cells from the rats' eyes, via an incision and gentle washing of the afflicted af·flict tr.v. af·flict·ed, af·flict·ing, af·flicts To inflict grievous physical or mental suffering on. [Middle English afflighten, from afflight, area, the scientists injected the transplant cells. In more than 200 cases in his lab, Turner told SCIENCE NEWS, the transplanted cells survived and prevented death of other cells essential for sight. Retinal dystrophy is rats causes the death of epithelial cells Epithelial cells Cells that form a thin surface coating on the outside of a body structure. Mentioned in: Corneal Transplantation of the retina, which cover and nourish the retina's photoreceptor cells. This, in turn, leads to death of the photoreceptor cells. The photoreceptor cells convert light to electrical impulses. In humans, senile senile /se·nile/ (se´nil) pertaining to old age; manifesting senility. se·nile adj. 1. Relating to, characteristic of, or resulting from old age. 2. macular degeneration macular degeneration, eye disorder causing loss of central vision. The affected area, the macula, lies at the back of the retina and is the part that produces the sharpest vision. , a leading cause of blindness among those over 60 in the United States, is believed caused by degeneration of retinal epithelial cells. Gouras expresses "optimism" about eventual application of the technique to senile macular degeneration and related conditions in humans. However, he says tissue rejection occurs following the procedure in rabbits, and the next step is studies in monkeys. Human treatment, Turner and gouras estimate, is five to 10 years off. |
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