Japanese team to use induced pluipotent stem cells for eye treatment

 

Nature reports that a team headed by Masayo Takahashi, an ophthalmologist at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology will attempt a procedure to treat macular denagerative disorder. Takahashi shared the 2012 Nobel Prize for breakthroughs in induced pluripotent stem cell application.

According to the report, or this procedure " Takahashi took skin cells from people with the disease and converted them to iPS cells. She then coaxed these cells to become retinal pigment epithelium cells, and then to grow into thin sheets that can be transplanted to the damaged retina."

There were concerns abut the stability of the cells once they were reprogrammed.To allay these fears Takahashi's team performed multiple tests that were presented for a 19-member panel who gave their consent to the operation.

                                                                                                                                        Posted by David