Controversial Stem Cell Experiment Could Treat the Blind

A scene as it might be viewed by a person with age-related macular degeneration. Credit: National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health

What's being billed as a "new and controversial transplant operation using stem cells derived from spare human embryos left over from IVF treatment" could benefit people with macular degeneration, which causes blindness. Biotech company Advanced Cell Technology has applied for a license from the FDA to do clinical trials on people, the Independent reports.

Age-related macular degeneration is a disease that damages the eye's macula, located in the center of the retina, causing a loss of sharp, central vision needed for tasks like reading and driving. It affects about 1.8 million Americans over age 40.

Experiments in the lab have been positive, the company states.

"We certainly expect them [the FDA] to come back with comments and questions but our hope is that we will start sometime early next year," said Robert Lanza, the company's chief scientific officer. "We're optimistic and certainly confident in our own data."

Trials, if approved, could begin in the spring.

Other attempts to improve vision and help the blind see involve implanting computer chips in the eye. It's been done on humans and also a cat. Last year, a blind dog got sight via a corneal implant.

Here's how one setup (for humans) works: A camera is built into a pair of glasses that sends signals to a tiny chip implanted in the back of the retina and stimulates nerves that lead to the vision center of the brain [See Video].

Separately, a new "seeing machine" uses an LED-based device to paint an image on a person's retina.

• Types of Eye Disease