Back From Blindness   

   There are different reasons for blindness.

   One type - corneal blindness - can be somewhat overcome with transplants. A newer method now under study may better help people around the globe. 

   The cornea is transparent - a window - that covers the iris and pupil. It helps the eye focus by bending light.

   A virus that causes lesions on the eye affects more than 50,000 Americans each year. More than 6 million around the world have corneal blindness. 

   Each year, more than 40,000 corneal transplants from deceased donors are performed in the U.S. About half fail within 10 years. U.S. eye banks sent more than 26,000 corneas overseas for transplants in 2016.

   After many years of study, research and trials, pioneered mostly at the University of Pittsburgh, there is hope for a technique that restores vision to eyes with damaged corneas. The "operation" takes only a few minutes. It is quicker, safer and more affordable.

   An alternative to transplants, stem cells are a building block of the body, and a component of regenerative medicine, as reported in PITT, the university news magazine. Stem cells can generate special cells that perform different jobs, like building bone, growing heart muscle, or forming the cornea. The body is less likely to reject them.

   Doctors can spread a gel with the patient's own stem cells and protein. Or, they can inject stem cells directly into the eye, and it works. Tests have resulted in healthy tissue. And scar tissue gradually disappears.

   More than 70 patients have been treated, with no reported complications and a high rate of vision improvement.

   Pitt's School of Dental Medicine even found that stem cells taken from wisdom teeth can regenerate cornea. Researchers hope to begin clinical trials within two years. 

Tomorrow: Treatment for depression

      Jimmy