New hope for a cure for blindness

A REVOLUTIONARY new treatment could give millions their sight back.

The pioneering surgery will restore sight for millions The pioneering surgery will restore sight for millions

British scientists revealed yesterday that they have devel oped “ground-breaking” new stem cell surgery which could cure corneal blindness.

They are testing the “exciting” surgery on human guinea pigs in the world’s first trials, and hope their advances will lead to cures for other types of blindness.

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It is even thought they may be able to give sight to those who have never seen before.

Their work could have significant implications for the 16million blind or partially sighted people across the world, 360,000 of whom are in Britain. The eagerly anticipated trials are set to start in Scotland this month, using 20 patients.

It is exciting to be involved in such ground-breaking work

Professor Bal Dhillon

Eye specialists will replace diseased cells in the patients’ corneas – called limbal cells – with healthy ones, taken from dead donors or grown in a lab. It is hoped that the healthy cells will encourage further growth, leading to the cornea’s surface being repaired.

Corneal blindness is caused by a loss of cells on the cornea, the outer surface of the eye.

The only treatments currently available are a transplant or a tissue graft, but both carry risks of infection and there is often a shortage of corneas for transplant.

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Professor Bal Dhillon, consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh, who leads the study, said: “It is exciting to be involved in such ground-breaking work.

“Piloting the use of limbal stem cell transplantation is a great landmark in the treatment of patients suffering from corneal blindness.”

Mr Winfried Amoaku, chairman of the scientific committee of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, said: “There are some types of corneal blindness that are not treatable by any other means so if they can be treated in this way it is a very significant breakthrough, very exciting.”

He said that although, to begin with, any treatment may help a small proportion of people with corneal blindness – about 5,000 in the UK and millions worldwide – further developments may mean the treatment becomes suitable for more patients.

Corneal blindness is caused by the cornea becoming cloud ed through injury or infection. Although it is a particular problem for older people, in the developing world it is becoming increasingly common among children and younger people.

Up to now, only some types of corneal blindness could be treated, mainly through cornea transplants. But these are not suitable for those with limbal stem cell deficiency.

Now, for the first time, millions of people who have been blinded through limbal cell deficiencies will have the possibility of regaining their sight.

Mr Amoaku said the dev elopments could later be extended to include those who had never been able to see, if their blindness was due to damage to the cornea.

He said: “There are some people who are born blind due to problems with the cornea and those people may be cured by this treatment.”

Jon Moulton, a trustee for the UK Stem Cell Foundation, which is jointly funding the study along with Scottish Enterprise, said: “Vision loss is a serious condition that dramatically affects the lives of millions of people around the world.

“The loss of independence resulting from blindness and visual impairment can have devastating consequences for individuals and their families

“Innovative pilot studies like this offer real hope.”

Sonal Rughani, senior ad viser and optometrist at the Royal National Institute for the Blind, said the charity “very much welcomes this new clinical trial”.

She said: “We look forward to further positive developments that could bring hope to many people who have lost their sight as the result of corneal blindness.”

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