Scientists in this laboratory in Sweden have made a medical breakthrough by cultivating artificial corneas they are able to store visions to millions of people in need of transplant in face of the risk of going blind. The biosynthetic cornea developed in Canada and Sweden looks like a contact lens. Eye surgeon May Griffith explains how it made.
"We started with the recombinant human collagen, so the first thing that was done was the scientist at fibergen, genetically engineered yeast. They took human DNA, put it into yeast cells, and got the yeast cells to produce this human protein.What we then did was take this protein chemically treated, put into molds and the result is a transparent contact lens looking like cornea. "
The procedure involves of removing the damage cornea which covers the iris of the people, and replace it with an artificial film-like one. The cornea itself is made from protein collagen, and reflects light allowing the retina to focus. The operation was carried out on 10 patients, and up until now, their sight has improved.
This was a test designed primarily to look at the safety of implanting biomaterial into patients. But we were very surprised and very happy for the results we got. Because the results show that six out of ten patients could now see things about four times further away than they could before the operation. And when we put hard contact lens on all ten patients, the vision in all ten patients was improved.
The patients were monitored from 2 years, and doctor said 90% of the cases the tissue grew back completely joining together with the implant. Doctors said that there haven't been any adverse effects and the artificial cornea was mimicking a natural one with patients producing tears.
Corneal disease affects millions of people around the world, and the number of transplants carried out limited due to a shortage of donors. The second and third phase of the test still needs to be carried out and medics say it will be another five years until the eye opening procedure will be performed at hospitals.
Basmah Fahim Reuters.
