Regenerative medicine research offers exciting possibilities for regrowing parts of the visual system. These techniques are not available yet to treat human patients, but exciting studies in other mammals show that stem cell therapies and tissue engineering techniques can restore vision. Some of these techniques include:
1. regenerating the optic nerve
2. transplanting photoreceptors
3. stimulating cells with optogenetics
4. growing parts of eyes
5. growing entire eyes
References:
Blood-derived human iPS cells generate optic vesicle-like structures with the capacity to form retinal laminae and develop synapses. (Link)
Embryonic stem cell trials for macular degeneration: a preliminary report. (Link)
Engrafted chicken neural tube-derived stem cells support the innate propensity for axonal regeneration within the rat optic nerve. (Link)
Full-length axon regeneration in the adult mouse optic nerve and partial recovery of simple visual behaviors. (Link)
Generation of functional eyes from pluripotent cells. (Link)
Restoration of vision after transplantation of photoreceptors. (Link)
Retinal prosthetic strategy with the capacity to restore normal vision. (Link)
Self-formation of optic cups and storable stratified neural retina from human ESCs. (Link)
Self-organizing optic-cup morphogenesis in three-dimensional culture. (Link)
Stem cells as a therapeutic tool for the blind: biology and future prospects. (Link)
Transplantation of human embryonic stem cells onto a partially wounded human cornea in vitro. (Link)
