Stem Cell Therapy fo Loss of Vision and Eye Conditions

If the limbus area of the cornea is injured or damaged, it can reduce the number of proliferating stem cells. If the corneal stem cells are reduced or eliminated, there is a gradual loss of transparency in the cornea and the formation of scar tissue. Cord stem cell treatments that include CD34 cells may be of benefit to some of these conditions.

However, in cases where neovascularization (the formation of new blood vessels) is a part of the pathology, such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, hyperbaric oxygen treatments may produce better results than stem cells. A lack of oxygen is generally the initial cause of the growth of new blood vessels and oxygen and antioxidant treatments may help repair eye tissue without increasing neovascularization that can interfere with the retinal center visual field.

Recently catheter surgery was used to place umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells directly into the blood vessels that feed the macula area of a patient's eye. A week later, the person was able to see close images again after being blind for several years.

In three cases of children with cortical blindness, treatments outside the United States using umbilical cord derived stem cells with a predominance of CD133+ neural progenitor cells resulted in moderate to significant improvements in vision. For research on vision and stem cell therapy, click here.