Comments
mountaingoat52 t1_j3pn9fn wrote
Really is fun to think of in the future that going blind will just be an annoyance.
"Ah fuck, can't come into work fellas, I've gone blind again, takin a sick day"
Long-Bed-1101 t1_j3qkl2g wrote
Yeah that makes perfect sense.
taweryawer t1_j3rvfd0 wrote
What if you go blind because of brain damage and not eye damage? That might be a bit harder
mountaingoat52 t1_j3s3msd wrote
Regenerative brain perhaps!
[deleted] t1_j3zq27d wrote
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Melodic-Work7436 OP t1_j3nqvyf wrote
Excerpts from the article:
“Over a decade ago, researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison developed a way to grow organized clusters of cells, called organoids, that resemble the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. They coaxed human skin cells reprogrammed to act as stem cells to develop into layers of several types of retinal cells that sense light and ultimately transmit what we see to the brain.”
“We wanted to use the cells from those organoids as replacement parts for the same types of cells that have been lost in the course of retinal diseases,” says David Gamm, the UW–Madison ophthalmology professor and director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute whose lab developed the organoids. “But after being grown in a laboratory dish for months as compact clusters, the question remained — will the cells behave appropriately after we tease them apart? Because that is key to introducing them into a patient’s eye.”
“The last piece of the puzzle was to see if these cords had the ability to plug into, or shake hands with, other retinal cell types in order to communicate,” says Gamm, whose new results on successful connections between the cells was published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”
“We’ve been quilting this story together in the lab, one piece at a time, to build confidence that we’re headed in the right direction,” says Gamm, who patented the organoids and co-founded Madison-based Opsis Therapeutics, which is adapting the technology to treat human eye disorders based on the UW–Madison discoveries. “It’s all leading, ultimately, to human clinical trials, which are the clear next step.”
marypoppindatpussy t1_j3zckk0 wrote
cool work. got a chuckle out of the "shake hands with" lol.
but human clinical trials are not the clear next step when they've only done ex vivo work lol. you do not go straight from a dish into humans
Thenerdy9 t1_j3o3fay wrote
Nice. But, clinical trials are next step?? ... I have so many questions!!
What will the sensation of light look like to a patient?
What steps can be taken to undo progress if the sensation is undesirable (or worse, painful or triggering of pain) and a patient wishes to withdraw from the study?
Will differentiated cells implanted in suspension and locate its target, or as tissue, carefully laid on its respective layer?
What optic training (stimuli) are necessary for integration of the new sensory information? What stimuli will be counterindicated?
The future is awesome, but I would accommodate those first volunteers with a lot of money and accessible wellness support. 😶
Valanaxx t1_j3ohpur wrote
Eh, could you hook me up with some extra cones? The other colours, please!
Lordmau5 t1_j3qr649 wrote
As someone with a red-green weakness I'm for this too
HankSteakfist t1_j3qc090 wrote
I have Retinitis Pigmentosa. Slower progressing than most, but as I get close to 40 my vision is getting worse.
I hope this research progresses. I'd really like to have good vision in the second half of my life.
brincell t1_j3p8pdw wrote
I remember thinking in the early 80s this was imminent lol.
greenappletree t1_j3ou0tz wrote
This sounds amazing and I hope it works; I'm a bit worry why this is not in a bigger impact paper; PNAS is great but it just seems out of place if this is true.
marypoppindatpussy t1_j3zc5tn wrote
my guess is because it's not really that novel. organoids, retroviruses, and this type of work in general have been around for a minute now. but also, in my personal opinion, the impact factor of journals is a bunch of bs where famous PIs can submit trash now that they've submitted one good paper they're still riding the coat tails on 20 years later. so as long as the methods look good and the experiments are legit, i wouldn't worry too much about what journal it was published in.
[deleted] t1_j3qx880 wrote
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Current_Side_4024 t1_j3r3ks0 wrote
Imagine being totally blind your whole life and you’re now 50 and suddenly medical science treats you to 20/20 vision 🤔🥳🤯
WimbleWimble t1_j3qkavt wrote
Ironically, they can SEE their way to human trials now.
jmmath t1_j3s448j wrote
Speaking as someone with a huge retinal scar. I'm very excited for this. I'm certain to be too old for it to ever be a theraputic option for me, but don't want others to go down the same road.
FuturologyBot t1_j3nwbds wrote
The following submission statement was provided by /u/Melodic-Work7436:
Excerpts from the article:
“Over a decade ago, researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison developed a way to grow organized clusters of cells, called organoids, that resemble the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. They coaxed human skin cells reprogrammed to act as stem cells to develop into layers of several types of retinal cells that sense light and ultimately transmit what we see to the brain.”
“We wanted to use the cells from those organoids as replacement parts for the same types of cells that have been lost in the course of retinal diseases,” says David Gamm, the UW–Madison ophthalmology professor and director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute whose lab developed the organoids. “But after being grown in a laboratory dish for months as compact clusters, the question remained — will the cells behave appropriately after we tease them apart? Because that is key to introducing them into a patient’s eye.”
“The last piece of the puzzle was to see if these cords had the ability to plug into, or shake hands with, other retinal cell types in order to communicate,” says Gamm, whose new results on successful connections between the cells was published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”
“We’ve been quilting this story together in the lab, one piece at a time, to build confidence that we’re headed in the right direction,” says Gamm, who patented the organoids and co-founded Madison-based Opsis Therapeutics, which is adapting the technology to treat human eye disorders based on the UW–Madison discoveries. “It’s all leading, ultimately, to human clinical trials, which are the clear next step.”
Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/107pqnj/labgrown_retinal_eye_cells_make_successful/j3nqvyf/
[deleted] t1_j3p1af0 wrote
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Redditforgoit t1_j3qi101 wrote
What I want to know is when the night vision and infra red corneas are coming.
Emotional_Document11 t1_j3rzf1j wrote
Chew: Don't know, I don't know such stuff. I just do eyes, ju-, ju-, just eyes... just genetic design, just eyes. You Nexus, huh? I design your eyes.
Batty : Chew, if only you could see what I've seen with your eyes!
[deleted] t1_j3q5s69 wrote
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Goinfederal t1_j3o47qv wrote
THIS IS SUCH GOOD NEWS for someone who may have autoimmune retinopathy. Knowing that the retina could be repaired later is fucking AMAZING because it's really difficult to tell if there is damage to the retina until it is really damaged (short of an ERG, which I'd have to go to another state for).
Amazing times are here right now!