Year-ender: Historical human breakthroughs in 2019
New technology for blind people to see again
A team of researchers led by Osaka University Professor Koji Nishida successfully treated an eye disease patient by transplanting artificially cultured corneal cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells.
The patient could hardly see anything out of her left eye before the operation, while her daily life has been largely improved after it due to the recovery of eyesight.
The corneal transplant operation using iPS cells is the first of its kind in the world. Given the dearth of corneal donations, the success is viewed as a step toward regenerative medicine for corneal disease.
Previous operation methods were focused on transplants using post mortem corneal donations, however, there was a high possibility of rejection and patients became blind again within one year because of transplanted corneal detachment.
