Stem cells reverse blindness caused by burns

[mercurychaos]

Dozens of people who were blinded or otherwise suffered severe eye damage when they were splashed with caustic chemicals had their sight restored with transplants of their own stem cells - a stunning success for the burgeoning cell-therapy field, Italian researchers reported Wednesday.

The treatment worked completely in 82 of 107 eyes and

Comments

[screamingintune]

this is super cool.

SCIENCE RULES!!

[keeperofthekeys]

Stem cells can do some crazy things (including both potentially curing and causing cancer). It's good to see a study that's longer term. Hopefully we'll eventually be able to take adult stem cells from other sources in the body and get them to, uh, differentiate differently, helping solve the problem presented when both eyes have been severely damaged.

[notgarystu]

This is fucking fantastic.

[maynardsong]

This looks promising.
To the OP, I don't see why embryonic stem cells should be a problem. Well, I do, but I think they should not be a problem.

[mercurychaos]

Yeah, I get you there. As I was reading it I kept thinking "Wow if they can do this with adult stem cells imagine what they could do with the embryonic ones"... and actually I think the FDA approved a clinic trial involving them last year but it's being held up (for reasons completely unrelated to anti-abortion protests, surprisingly enough.)

[arisma]

mte

[crossfire]

ontd_science would eat this article up if you want to crosspost. :D

[mercurychaos]

You're welcome to if you want; I'm not a member there and don't really want to join any more communities (LJ is distracting enough for me already.)