It will soon be possible to restore sight thanks to a hydrogel film capable of regenerate the cornea, according to the results of a press release from the University of Melbourne in Australia. Tests have been successfully carried out on sheep. Human clinical trials are scheduled for 2017.
Trauma, disease and aging can reduce the number of cells in the cornea, leading to deterioration of vision and causing blindness. However, these cells cannot regenerate or repair themselves. The only treatment available requires a cornea transplant to the patient. But there is a global shortage of cornea donors. The transplant process is delicate, the donor’s cornea may be rejected by the patient’s immune system.
Researchers at the University of Melbourne in Australia grew cornea cells on a layer of film. This hydrogel can be implanted in the eye and help the cornea to heal.
By testing this film on animals, they managed to restore their vision. Clinical trials in humans are planned for 2017.
A new therapeutic voice to regenerate the cornea
Thinner than a human hair (50 microns), the hydrogel film is perfectly transparent when implanted and allows water to flow between the cornea and the interior of the eye. The film biodegrades completely after two months and does not cause unwanted immune reactions.
“The hydrogel film that we have developed allows us to create additional cells in the laboratory” explains Berkay Ozcelik, the researcher who developed the film at the University of Melbourne. “We can then implant this film on the inner surface of the cornea of a patient, inside the eye, through a very small incision. ”Once in place, the new cells restore the activity of the cornea so that it The other advantage of our technique is that we can regenerate and increase the number of cells of a donor, other than the patient himself “, adds the researcher. A single culture could thus treat more than 20 patients.
“More trials are needed, but we hope to see the treatment tested in humans next year,” he concludes.
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