骨髓干细胞可望治疗青光眼
青光眼指的是由于眼球内压力过高所导致的数种疾病总称。正常的眼睛会持续产生并且排除水样液(aqueous humor)。但在青光眼病患，其水样液不停的蓄积，使得眼压上升对视神经造成直接的伤害，最终可能导致永久性的失明。它是全球成年人的主要致盲眼疾。
目前临床上治疗青光眼是利用药物或手术方是来减低眼压，但不是每个人都能成功。利用动物实验，英国科学家抽取健康的骨髓干细胞，打入受损的眼睛，发现干细胞可以减缓视神经的伤害，避免青光眼的发生。
未来科学家希望干细胞能直接修补受损的视神经，恢复青光眼的视力，更希望能直接进行人体试验，根除疾病。
Stem cells could cure 'silent thief of sight'
In a first, medical experts have reported a major scientific breakthrough wherein stem cells could be used in the battle to cure blindness in humans.
Using animals in lab tests, they grafted stem cell tissues taken from bone marrow on to damaged nerves in the eye. When the healthy cells are in place the eye begins to repair itself suggesting the technique could be used in the fight to cure blindness.
Glaucoma is the most common cause of irreversible blindness in the developed world and is dubbed "the silent thief of sight" because of the insidious manner in which many patients have already suffered significant visual loss before they are diagnosed.
Current treatment can only slow progression of the disease by reducing eye pressure medically or surgically but even this doesn't succeed for some patients.
"Glaucoma remains a leading cause of blindness worldwide and there is currently no way to restore vision once it has been lost. Fight for Sight funding is helping us explore the possibility that stem cell treatments could one day be used to treat glaucoma," the Scotsman quoted Professor Keith Martin, a neuroscientist at Cambridge University, as saying.
"Initially, we are looking at how stem cells can protect the eye against glaucoma damage when other treatment has failed.
"We have recently had some very encouraging results in animals with glaucoma which shows that stem cells can protect against glaucoma damage.
"In the future, our dream is to be able to use stem cell treatments to improve vision in patients severe glaucoma. However, it will be a few more years until these treatments are ready for human clinical trials." (ANI)