Scientists Use CLs to Transfer Stem Cells

Australian scientists announced how sheets of stem cells grown on contact lenses can repair damaged eyes.  This could pave the way for an effective treatment for painful caustic or thermal burns, or severe inflammation of the surface of the eye. The treatment transfers minuscule strips of adult stem cells from specifically designed contact lenses onto the eye, to help rebuild the surface of the cornea. Centre for Eye Research Australia researcher Karl David Brown said it was the first time they had proved cells had transferred from the contact lens to the eye to rebuild the surface.  During the trial, limbal stem cells, which function naturally to repair the eye, were taken from the edge of the cornea.  Sheets containing hundreds of thousands of cells were grown on contact lenses. Read more.