London, Nov. 22: A revolutionary stem cell therapy that can restore sight to the blind and prevent others from losing their vision will be tested on humans, according to a report.
Researchers of the Massachusetts biotech firm Advanced Cell Technology have received green signal to carry out the world’s first trial into the power of embryonic stem cells to heal the eye. The first phase of the trial will involve injecting embryonic stem cells into the eyes of teenagers and men and women with hereditary blindness.
Tests on older people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common form of blindness in the elderly, are expected to follow in 2011, said Dr Robert Lanza, a leading stem cell researcher.
Dr Lanza will soon announce that permission for the trial has been granted, the Daily Mail reported.
“Although the initial trials will take place in the US, British trials are likely to follow. If they replicate the phenomenal results of animal tests, the lives of millions could be transformed,” said the report. In this new treatment, the body’s “master cells”, or stem cells, can turn into other cell types and have tremendous potential as a repair kit for the body.
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