RPE dysfunction affects 200 million people around the world and this new procedure could be the cure.
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00:00Blindness affects millions of people around the world, but now scientists say that certain
00:07cells taken from the deceased could cure those who can't see.
00:10Retinal pigment epithelium, or RPE, are cells in the eyes that regulate light receptors
00:15and move things our eyes need, like nutrients to our eyes, and move waste away from them.
00:19And dysfunction in the RPE is the leading cause of blindness in around 200 million people
00:24all over the world.
00:25But now scientists from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in Israel say they
00:29have used stem cells to regrow these retinal cells in monkeys.
00:32Dr. Timothy Blankensopp, the study's co-author, said about the findings,
00:36Human cadaver donor-derived cells can be safely transplanted underneath the retina and replace
00:41host function, and therefore may be a promising source for rescuing vision in patients with
00:45retina diseases.
00:46With Blankensopp adding, quote,
00:47What is more, the stem cell-derived RPE partially took over the function of the monkey RPE and
00:53was able to support normal photoreceptor function.
00:55The next step, they say, is testing this on primates who suffer from blindness linked
00:59to RPE.
01:00The study's results were published in the journal Stem Cell Reports.