ScienceDaily (Nov. 21, 2008) — Pluripotent stem cells — those, like embryonic stem cells, that give rise to almost every type of cell in the body — can be converted into the different classes of retinal cells necessary for vision, according to a new study from researchers at SUNY Upstate Medical University.
This research points to exciting new possibilities for preventing or reversing the disabling vision loss caused by age‑related macular degeneration, diabetes retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, glaucoma, and other diseases that damage the retina, the layer of light‑sensitive nerve cells that line the back of the eye. The research was presented at Neuroscience 2008, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Washington, D.C.
“Vision is lost in these diseases because one or more of the seven retinal cell types die,” said the study’s lead author, Michael Ezra Zuber, Ph.D., assistant professor of ophthalmology and adjunct assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at SUNY Upstate Medical University. “Current treatments can slow these diseases’ progression, but they can’t replace lost retinal cells. Pluripotent cells offer a promising starting point from which to generate new retinal cells.”
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