STEM CELL THERAPY GAVE VISION TO BLIND
A man partially blinded in an attack on Tyneside has praised STEM CELL THERAPY who restored his vision.
Russell Turnbull, 38, lost the sight in one eye in 1994 when he was squirted with ammonia after intervening in an argument on a bus in Newcastle.
He was left with Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency (LSCD), a painful condition which requires constant treatment.
He said the Newcastle University team which developed the treatment had “transformed his life”.
The method involves taking a small amount of stem cells from a patient’s good eye, cultivating them in a laboratory, and implanting them into the damaged cornea. A tiny section of the stem cells measuring just 1mm square was taken into the lab and immersed into a sample of Russell’s blood mixed in a solution of glucose, insulin and hydrocortisone. After two weeks the surface layers of his bad cornea were removed and replaced by the new sample which was stitched into place.
The new operation involves cutting away a millimeter squared section of his left eye complete with stem cells and growing it to 400 times that size in the laboratory.
The technique, developed by scientists and eye surgeons at the North East England Stem Cell Institute (NESCI) has been used on eight patients and for most of them including Mr. Turnbull it has almost completely restored their vision.
Mr Turnbull, from Consett, County Durham, was treated at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI).
He said: “I had a lot of anger inside me for a long time after the attack. I lost my job because of it and I had always been a keen jet skier, which I wasn’t able to do.
“It ruined my life and I went through a really difficult time. But then this treatment came along. I can’t thank the staff at the RVI enough.
“This has transformed my life. My eye is almost as good as it was before the accident. I’m working, I can go jet skiing again and I also ride horses. I have my life back thanks to the operation.”
He is one of eight patients who successfully underwent the treatment developed at the North East England Stem Cell Institute (NESCI). It is hoped that the technique could eventually be rolled out into clinics.
“The stem cell treatment option is aimed at total cure rather than symptom relief only. This new treatment will alleviate patient suffering and remove the need for long term multiple medications as well as returning the patient to functional and social independence.”
Dr. Sajjad Ahmad, who developed the Newcastle method for culturing Limbal stem cells, said “This study shows that stem cell research conducted in the laboratory can have a major impact on the quality of life of patients with corneal disease. This work has been a team effort involving stem cell researchers and hospital doctors working together effectively.”
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