New techniques regrow lens, cornea tissue
Novel treatments for eye problems still at preliminary research stage
Human cells reprogrammed to become stem cells can form cornea tissue in lab dishes, researchers in Japan and Wales report March 9 in Nature. The stem cell tissue was used to repair the damaged outer layer of the cornea in rabbits. In a separate study also published March 9 in Nature, researchers in China and the United States coaxed stem cells in the eyes of a dozen babies born with cataracts to regrow clear lenses.