According to the Untied States Bureau of the Census there
are about 6,679,300 individuals whom are blind in the United States. One form
of blindness can defined as eyesight bad enough, even with corrective lenses, that
they need an alternative method to engage in any activity that persons with
normal vision would do using their eyes.
In a recent
experiment scientist tried to restore vision by injecting stem cells into the
eyes of 18 people who are blind. During the study the scientist coaxed stem
cells into developing into cells called retinal pigment epithelium cells, which
they then transplanted into one eye of each of the patients.
After the
experiment the eyesight improved in 10 of the patients eyes. Eyesight remained
the same in 7 of the patients and actually got worse in one patient.
I found
this to be interesting that scientist are finding ways to use stem cells to
correct blindness and hopefully this technology can be used in the future for
other ailments.
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