Stem Cells
Problem — Stargardt’s Disease
- Also known as macular degeneration
- An inherited disease that causes light-sensitive tissues in
the retina to deteriorate
- Affects a small area called macula that is near the center
of the retina, which is responsible for sharp central focus
- Occurs because lipofuscin (fatty yellow pigment) builds
up in cells underlying the macula that progressively
damages cells important for central vision
- Symptoms include wavy vision, blind spots, blurriness,
impaired color vision, and difficulty adapting to dim lighting
- Progression commences at the age of six to twelve, symptoms starts to develop at age 20
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Problem
- No current treatment that is available for the patients with the disease
- Inconvenient for everyday life as patients need to use magnifiers to assist their vision
- Eyes can be further damaged if it is not properly protected
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Treatment
- Since 1998, scientists have been experimenting with human embryonic stem cells in the hopes
to provide treatments for various diseases
- They try to replicate/clone stem cells by isolating them
- The same process have been applied in an attempt to treat macular degeneration
- It is fairly close to human testing developments
- Recently, a Boston company called Advanced Cell Technology introduces a stem cell
treatment that targets patients with the Stargardt’s Disease
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Use of Stem Cells in the treatment
- The treatment utilizes retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells
- Cells that is grown from embryonic stem cells.
- A surgeon injects 150 micro liters of RPE cells (approximately 3 raindrops) under the patient’s
retina (temporarily detached for the occasion)
- RPE cells support the retina’s photoreceptors = cells that detect incoming light and pass the
information on to the brain
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Issue — Parkinson’s Disease
- A disease that eradicates dopamine producing nerve cells in the part of the brain called
substantia nigra
- Dopamine...