NSCI co-founders Dr. Sally Temple and Dr. Jeffrey Stern were recognized for their outstanding presentations at the Association for Research and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting earlier this month:
While there were seven outstanding stem-cell presentations during the summit, I want to highlight two that were particularly intriguing.
Jeffrey Stern, M.D., Ph.D., co-founder of the Neural Stem Cell Institute (NSCI), discussed how the human retina has its own resident stem cells, which his group is working to harness as a therapy for diseases like AMD. In AMD, the disease causes degeneration of supportive cells known as retinal pigment epithelium, or RPE. When RPE are lost, the photoreceptors, the cells that make vision possible, die off as well, and central vision is lost.
Along with his wife and NSCI co-founder, Sally Temple, Ph.D., Stern is leading an effort to coax dormant stem cells in the patient’s retina to become new RPE. While it isn’t as far along as other RPE-replacement therapies, some of which are in early clinical trials, the NSCI “grow your own” approach would avoid many of the issues—including immune-system reactions, manufacturing and transplantation—associated with other stem-cell therapies.
Read the entire review, by Ben Shaberman, entitled: What Does it Take to Develop a Stem-Cell Therapy for the Retina? here.
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