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In the Japanese city of Kobe, preparations are underway for revolutionary clinical trials aimed at restoring patient vision using stem cells. Center Specialists Institute for Development Biology (Center for Developmental Biology) Institute physico-chemical research led by Dr. Masayo Takahashi (Masayo Takahashi) are going to replace the diseased areas ocular epithelium on healthy, obtained using induced pluripotent stem cells. It is noteworthy that one of 2012 Nobel Prize Winners in Medicine – Xinya Yamanaka also is a representative of the Land of the Rising Sun and was awarded a high award just for work in the field of biology development and production of induced stem cells. Work Dr. Takahashi is a continuation of research in this area. science and medicine. Her team will try to restore the vision of six volunteers, and all of them over 50. Such a choice of patients “in age “is due to the nature of the disease that seek defeat scientists. We are talking about macular degeneration, retinal damage eyes, often the cause of blindness in older people. Ongoing the procedure will be the removal of damaged areas epithelium and implantation of a layer of cells derived from tissues of the the patient. Experts emphasize that surgical the intervention, of course, poses some danger to health of elderly patients. In addition, there is some the probability of damage to sensitive areas of the eye with a needle. However subsequent restoration of vision in volunteers, and in this scientists no doubt they are clearly outweighed. The first tests of the new treatment methods will begin after formal approval Funding Organization – Institute of Biomedical research and innovation (Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation) – and will last until March 2014. Recall that earlier scientists were able to improve the vision of four young people suffering Leber’s amaurosis, a hereditary retinal disease, with gene therapy. Vision Based Testing on stem cells, are carried out in other countries of the world. But for now scientists report only isolated cases of success, and collateral the effects of such therapy are poorly understood.
Japan
