Some patients who became blind in one eye as a result of chemical burns have had their sight totally or partially restored after undergoing adult stem cell treatment in Italy. According to research results published in the online New England Journal of Medicine, 96 out of 107 patients treated with their own stem cells regained all or part of their sight.

Doctors took stem cells from the healthy eye of each patient, multiplied them in the laboratory and then placed them in the burnt eye. There were no tissue rejection problems as the cells were from the patients’ own bodies and eventually new corneal tissue grew in their damaged eyes. The benefits of the treatment have, in some cases, lasted for up to ten years.

The research was funded by the Italian government and carried out by doctors and scientists at the University of Modena Centre for Regenerative Health.
Doctors emphasise that this type of treatment cannot cure people who are totally blind as the cells need to be taken from a patient’s one healthy eye. It is, however, an important medical breakthrough and the patients who have benefited from the treatment are described as “incredibly happy”.