[Blindmath] Fw: [Nfb-science] Fw: Canadian scientists envision synthetic corneas

[Christine Szostak]

Hi All,
  I just thought some hear might be interested. I apologize as this is not 
100% related to list topics, but  it may prove of interest to many here.
many thanks,
Christine
Christine M. Szostak
Graduate Student
Language Perception Laboratory
Department of Psychology, Cognitive Area
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
szostak.1 at osu.edu
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "qubit" <lauraeaves at yahoo.com>
To: <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>; <nfb-science at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, August 27, 2010 11:06 PM
Subject: [Nfb-science] Fw: Canadian scientists envision synthetic corneas


I recently got the following article from a friend and thought it was quite 
exciting if it can be perfected.  I am sending it along for those interested 
in corneal transplants.
Enjoy!
--le

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Gianfranco Di Cosmo
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2010 3:13 AM
Subject: Canadian scientists envision synthetic corneas



Canadian researchers may have made a breakthrough in the treatment of 
blindness caused by damaged corneas.

They've developed a biosynthetic cornea that can actually help the eye 
repair its own damaged eye tissue and restore vision. And with further 
research, they say their approach could help restore sight to millions of 
people around the world who have lost their sight from diseases that lead to 
clouding of the cornea.

The research, published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine 
is a small one, involving just 10 people. But scientists say they were 
surprised that the treatment worked in the majority of patients who had 
scarred corneas, helping to restore the sight of nine of the 10 patients.

The cornea is the thin, transparent layer of collagen and cells that acts as 
a window on the eyeball. In most cases of corneal damage, only a transplant 
can restore sight.

But in this research, Dr. May Griffith of the Ottawa Hospital Research 
Institute, the University of Ottawa and Linköping University in Sweden 
created corneas using biosynthetic collagen produced in the lab that was 
moulded into the shape of a cornea, much like a contact lens.

After first testing the corneas on pigs (who have eyes similar to humans), 
they recruited 10 Swedish patients with advanced keratoconus, or central 
corneal scarring. Each patient underwent surgery in 2007 to remove damaged 
corneal tissue. That was then replaced with corneas made from synthetic 
human collagen, which were sewn onto the eyes.

For two years, researchers watched what happened. Over time, the implants 
acted as scaffolding to help the eye restore normal corneal cell and nerve 
growth.

"You put the material in the eye and it becomes almost an integral part. It 
allows the natural cells of the person treated to go into the material and 
become part of it," co-author Rejean Munger of the Ottawa Hospital Research 
Institute told CTV News.

The corneas even became sensitive to touch and started making tears to keep 
the eyes oxygenated.

Griffith says while the study was intended only to test the safety of the 
new corneas, her team found that nine of the 10 patients saw their vision 
improve, though some needed to wear contact lenses. The 10th patient is 
improving though much more slowly.

"We were actually very surprised and happy that we saw improvement in the 
vision," Griffith said.

"After surgery, patients didn't have perfect vision, but they could see 
better," she says. "One patient had almost perfect vision; others had 
slightly less than perfect vision."

The research was published Wednesday in the journal Science Translational 
Medicine.


Page 2.
Dr. Keith Gordon of the CNIB notes that there are millions of people in 
Canada and around the world who need new corneas, but there is a dire 
shortage of donor corneas. A synthetic cornea from a lab would be an 
important new way of treating patients.

"If these transplants are as effective as they appear to be, we have got a 
winner. And it will be exciting and useful for people with vision loss due 
to corneal disease," he says.

Researchers think it will take another five years to further improve the 
implants, and to test them in other eye conditions.

With a report from CTV's medical specialist Avis Favaro and producer 
Elizabeth St. Philip


CTV.ca News Staff


Posted at 2010/08/25 18:51:13

If you want to visit my website,   http://dicosmo.ifreepages.com/

Gianfranco

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