Synthetic cornea rejuvenates sight
6 Oct 2010 by Evoluted New Media
Several patients with advanced central corneal scarring have been given the opportunity to see again thanks to biosynthetic corneas generated from human collagen
Several patients with advanced central corneal scarring have been given the opportunity to see again thanks to biosynthetic corneas generated from human collagen
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| Corneal transplants give keratoconus sufferers sight again |
Ten patients with keratoconus – a disease which leads to thin and conical-shaped corneas and severely affects a person’s ability to see – underwent surgery on one eye to remove the damaged cornea. It was replaced with a biosynthetic version – human collagen grown in yeast and moulded into a contact lens shape.
“We’re trying to regenerate the cornea from within,” said Dr May Griffiths, senior scientist at the Ottowa Hospital Research Institute, who first began working on biosynthetic corneas over 10 years ago.
“This study is important because it is the first to show that an artificially fabricated cornea can integrate with the human eye and stimulate regeneration,” she added.
Two years after surgery, Griffiths followed up with the patients and found that cells and nerves from the patients’ own cornea had grown into the implant, resulting in a regenerated cornea that resembles normal, healthy tissue. Unlike normal human donor transplants, the patients experienced no rejection of the implant or any long term immune suppression.
Over time, the corneas became sensitive to touch, and began producing tears to keep the eye moist and oxygenated. Vision improved in 60% of the patients, and after fitting with contact lenses, it was comparable to that of conventional corneal transplantation.
“We are very encouraged by these results and by the great potential of biosynthetic corneas,” said Dr Per Fagerholm, an eye surgeon who performed the operations. “Further biomaterial enhancements and modifications to the surgical technique are ongoing,” he said, “And new studies are being planned that will extend the use of the biosynthetic cornea to a wide range of sight-threatening conditions requiring transplantation.”
The technology may provide a solution to the shortage of corneal transplants worldwide.
