text_1: Stem Cell Injection May Soon Reverse Vision Loss Caused By Age-Related Macular Degeneration
text_2: While the findings described in this news release are enticing and hopeful, they were derived from animal studies, not human clinical trials. While the release eventually explains that, it went on to make crystal ball projections of being “close to a time when we can offer adult stem cells as a promising source for personalized therapies for this and other human diseases.” Research efforts to manipulate pluripotent stem cells for use in various disorders, including retinal degeneration, are widespread and some forms of stem cell therapy using cells derived from embryonic stem cells, for instance, are already in human trials. The novel source of cells for this rat study is important, but this research does not stand alone. Even a little bit of context would have helped. Macular degeneration is a serious condition affecting millions of Americans each year. It is largely a disease of the elderly who slowly lose their central vision as cells in the back of eye die. Smoking, race and genetic predisposition can also affect the onset of this condition. The damage is irreparable but if a treatment could be possible through new research, it would provide an improvement in the quality of life for many people burdened by this condition. However, raising hopes among patients for an imminent solution based on work on lab rats is troublesome; this work could be years away from human application.