Key points from article :
A recent study led by Michiko Mandai at the Kobe City Eye Hospital in Japan has shown promising results in using stem cell transplants to treat age-related sight loss. In this research, scientists transplanted human stem cells into a snow monkey’s retina to repair a 1-millimeter-wide hole caused by the ageing process, which can lead to blurred or patchy vision as the gel-like fluid in the eye thickens and pulls on the retina. While traditional methods to fill these retinal holes often involve transferring tissue from other parts of the eye, these can sometimes fail, highlighting the need for new strategies.
Mandai's team grew stem cells from human embryos into retinal cell precursors and introduced them into the monkey’s damaged retina. They then trained the monkey to fix its gaze on a screen displaying hundreds of dots, assessing its vision before and after the transplant. Before the procedure, the monkey could fixate on only 1.5% of the dots, but six months later, this improved significantly, with fixation rates ranging from 11% to 26% across various tests.
While these results indicate an improvement in the monkey's vision, further studies with larger groups of non-human animals are needed to validate the approach. If successful, this technique may eventually be applicable to humans, as our eyes share significant similarities with those of other primates, suggesting a potential new avenue for treating age-related vision loss.
