Stem Cell Therapy Trial Reverses 'Irreversible' Damage to Cornea (newatlas.com)
(Sunday March 09, 2025 @05:48PM (EditorDavid)
from the eyes-have-it dept.)
- Reference: 0176659669
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/03/09/1612213/stem-cell-therapy-trial-reverses-irreversible-damage-to-cornea
- Source link: https://newatlas.com/biology/stem-cell-therapy-reverses-irreversible-damage-cornea/
[1]Damaged corneas were repaired at a Harvard teaching hospital in a unique clinical trial, reports New Atlas :
> Since it's on the frontline of potential hazards from the outside world, the cornea features a population of limbal epithelial stem cells, which repair minor damage to keep the surface smooth and functional... The [2]new study , conducted by scientists [3]at Massachusetts Eye and Ear , investigated a new treatment called cultivated autologous limbal epithelial cells (CALEC). This involves removing stem cells from a patient's uninjured eye, growing their population in the lab for a few weeks, then surgically transplanting them into the injured eye.
>
> The phase 1/2 trial recruited 14 patients to undergo the procedure, and followed them for 18 months afterwards... By the first checkup at three months, the corneas of seven (50%) of the participants had been completely restored. By the 12-month mark, that number had increased to 11 (79%) patients. Two other participants met the definition for partial success, so the team claims an overall success rate of 92% for CALEC.
[1] https://newatlas.com/biology/stem-cell-therapy-reverses-irreversible-damage-cornea/
[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56461-1
[3] https://www.massgeneralbrigham.org/en/about/newsroom/press-releases/calec-stem-cell-therapy-clinical-trial-repairs-corneal-damage
> Since it's on the frontline of potential hazards from the outside world, the cornea features a population of limbal epithelial stem cells, which repair minor damage to keep the surface smooth and functional... The [2]new study , conducted by scientists [3]at Massachusetts Eye and Ear , investigated a new treatment called cultivated autologous limbal epithelial cells (CALEC). This involves removing stem cells from a patient's uninjured eye, growing their population in the lab for a few weeks, then surgically transplanting them into the injured eye.
>
> The phase 1/2 trial recruited 14 patients to undergo the procedure, and followed them for 18 months afterwards... By the first checkup at three months, the corneas of seven (50%) of the participants had been completely restored. By the 12-month mark, that number had increased to 11 (79%) patients. Two other participants met the definition for partial success, so the team claims an overall success rate of 92% for CALEC.
[1] https://newatlas.com/biology/stem-cell-therapy-reverses-irreversible-damage-cornea/
[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56461-1
[3] https://www.massgeneralbrigham.org/en/about/newsroom/press-releases/calec-stem-cell-therapy-clinical-trial-repairs-corneal-damage
Fantastic news (Score:2)
by Teun ( 17872 )
This is fantastic news for those suffering of this damage.
The next question will be what the cost/benefit ration is...
Re: (Score:1)
by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 )
> The next question will be what the cost/benefit ration is...
No, sadly, the next question is how soon before their funding gets slashed by the current Administration for a random, dubious, or simply no, reason.
Re: (Score:2)
by jfdavis668 ( 1414919 )
We'll start a Go Fund Me.
Re: (Score:2)
by newbie_fantod ( 514871 )
The research will still be valuable to civilized societies who do not accept for-profit healthcare for their citizens
Re: (Score:2)
by bill_mcgonigle ( 4333 ) *
Explain this being first available to patients in Boston.
So why not do a cornea graft? (Score:2)
I know they don't always work.
Re: (Score:1)
Just guessing but the density of the type of cell the researchers increased the number of, is low and is the crucial type for repairing the cornea. The study does call them "grafts" in any case.
> 86%, 93%, and 92% of grafts resulted in complete or partial success at 3, 12, and 18 months, respectively.
I wonder if they could somehow revert some of the cells in that localized area (eye) back into stem cells? Would be as easy as eye drops. Its been found that most any cell in the body can de-differentiate with the right factors presented. Apparently that's also what cancer does. [1]https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/a... [nih.gov]
[1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3989690/
Re: (Score:2)
A few basic concepts:
1 - Epithelium - this the outer layer of cells, any part of the body, that interfaces between the ambient environment and tissues inside the body. E.g., for the skin, it is the epidermis. Inside your mouth, the oral mucosa - etc., every body surface has an epithelium.
The cornea has an epithelium, and it is very specialized to remain thin and optically clear.
The conjunctiva covering the sclera and eyelids also has an epithelium. One of its roles is to maintain moisture and lubrication
Re: (Score:2)
And, a followup thought to my last comment -
The study done was good - the kind of nice incremental work that makes medicine and clinical results keep getting better.
The authors know what they are talking about.
Doctors reading know what they are talking about.
"Stem cells" are just a term for an anatomical structure, so nothing extraordinary.
BUT - if there is a non-technical website (New Atlas site linked to at the start of this post), and their correspondent or "science reporter" sees "Stem Cells", that beco