Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Restoration of Vision to Rats with Glaucoma


There are estimated to be three million people in the United States with glaucoma. Without consistent good treatment, many of these people will become blind.

A research team at Iowa State University led by Dr. Sinisa Grozdanic has successfully completed a study of a treatment for glaucoma in rats.

Bone marrow stem cells from these rats had been treated so that they produced nerve protective proteins. When these stem cells were injected into the rats' eyes they continued to make this healing protein, vastly improved vision and prevented further deterioration.

The team of researchers plans to begin a similar study next year on dogs suffering from glaucoma. If successful, it will be followed by human clinical trials.

A more detailed summary of this article can be found at:

http://www.Eurekalert.org – New treatment for glaucoma shows promise in laboratory, say Iowa State researchers

This work was originally presented at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Conference.

No comments: