Stem Cell Transplants Help Mice See
Related News: Stem Cells and BlindnessReuters has an article about Dr. Michael J. Young over at Harvard Med and his colleagues harvested retinal stem cells from newborn mice that had been bred with a gene that colored their tissues fluorescent green. The cells were then transplanted into the degenerating retinas of adult mice restoring and improving the animals' vision... Read On
After transplantation, the stem cells became nerve cells that are needed for vision, according to the report in Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. Furthermore, the mice that received the transplants showed improved responses to light.
The researchers speculate that the transplanted cells may work, in part, by secreting chemicals that help save these dying cells.
Posted on December 13, 2004 11:42 AM