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Device May Help Harvest Eye Stem Cells Needed to Restore Vision Mar. 5, 2001 | 10:10 a.m. ATTENTION: Medical editors IRVINE, Calif., March 5 (AScribe News) -- What is now a difficult, last-resort surgical procedure to restore vision may be easier and more successful, thanks to a new eye stem cell harvesting device created by researchers at University of California, Irvine's College of Medicine. The device, called a ``limbal stem cell harvester,'' can recover stem cells--so-called immortal cells that scientists are studying for their ability to replenish damaged or diseased tissues. The device, if effective in clinical trials, may make easier a laborious and often unsuccessful operation in which stem cells are transplanted into the cornea. A study on the harvester's performance appears in the March issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology. Dr. Roy Chuck, assistant professor of ophthalmology and an eye surgeon at the UCI Medical Center, and his colleagues found that the device quickly took stem cells from corneas of deceased donors in high enough volumes to increase the odds of a successful operation and vision restoration. The operation currently is performed on patients whose corneas have been damaged by chemicals or from such eye diseases as Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, a rare disorder that causes blindness. ``Stem cell transplants into the cornea have corrected blindness in many patients, but it is still considered a last-ditch effort to save the patient's eyes. The procedure's success rate is very low,'' Chuck said. Chuck and his colleagues used the device to shave a microscopic layer off the surface of the eye in an area called the ``limbus.'' This area is the intersection between the clear, outer surface of the eye, known as the cornea, and the surface of the eyeball inside the skull, known as the sclera. The limbal area contains large amounts of stem cells, which are used to replenish cells in the cornea as they die or are damaged by the elements. In healthy people, these stem cells can maintain vision by keeping the cornea whole. In cases of injury or disease, the cornea damage is so great or the limbus itself is damaged, preventing stem cell replenishment and causing blindness. ``The success rate of this surgical procedure has increased greatly in the past five years due to our ability to harvest stem cells and transplant them to the damaged cornea,'' Chuck said. ``If continued testing proves its effectiveness, this device can help us get the large number of stem cells we need to make this surgery more successful and restore vision to these patients.'' Chuck, who performs stem cell transplants at UCI Medical Center in addition to his research, was assisted in the study by Drs. Ashley Behrens and Peter J. McDonnell of UCI. -30- Media Contact: Andrew Porterfield, UC Irvine Communications, 949-824-3969; amporter(at)uci.edu AScribe - The Public Interest Newswire / 510-645-4600 $$ AP-NY-03-05-01 1105EST http://www.postnet.com/postnet/news/wires.nsf/StateRegion/02EE2BE38AC5B65386256A060058750F?OpenDocument **************