World first: creation of in vitro, early-stage retinal structures

However, unlike st cells that can replicate indefinitely, progenitor cells can only replicate a limited number of times) using induced pluripotent st (iPS) cells derived from human blood. That is just the next step in a world-wide quest by several independent research groups to develop solutions for several human eye diseases that result in vision impairment or blindness.
Dr David Gamm, a paediatric ophthalmologist and the study’s senior author, describes the outcome as: “A solid step forward”.With the greying of the world’s population, age-related macular degeneration is the most obvious target for st-cell research and retinitis pigmentosa is a possible application among the non-age-related eye diseases.
Diabetic retinopathy in its various forms involves most age groups and there is every reason to believe that it too will add to the dand for solutions to human eye diseases. However, glaucoma, especially late-stage glaucoma, is not a target currently because of the effect it has on neurological tissue to which a transplanted retina would have to connect.