UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Article on the BBC news site. Got to be a strip in the right direction to solving the supply vs demand problem Question is if you used your own stem cells would you end up with KC again.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-281062 ... h-28106253

Just what I came here to post!

Looks very promising. Not only supply and demand but rejection issues with transplants I should think. Good point about using your own stem cells though. Any medical/science professionals out there able to shed some light on that?

Stem cell research is a really exciting area and was one of the topics covered at the Cornea Day organised by researchers at Moorfields which some of us attended. You can read a summary in our last newsletter on the home page of this site.
http://www.keratoconus-group.org.uk/new ... g_2014.pdf
It's obviously going to take some years before any of this might translate into treatments for KC but it does seem to hold out genuine hope for the future.
Anne

Loopy-Lou wrote:http://www.optometry.co.uk/news-and-features/news/?article=6100

Great article, Lou.

Many articles in internet regarding stem cells and cornea are about outer layer(epitheliuem), but hopefuly they can soon regrow whole corneas :
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=10850151
From arcticle:
In 2010, the Auckland University researchers could grow cells only for the outer layer of the cornea.
"Other people are doing it as well, but in the University of Auckland we've now grown the outer layer, the middle layer and the inner layer ... so it won't be long until we can grow them into a functional biological cornea," Professor McGhee said.

Nurturing and Applying Stromal Stem Cells:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/836582#vp_1


Regarding Keratoconus I dont know if the putting of stem cells in the eye can regrow cornea in the right shape or if there will be still the transplantation (cornea from own cells) needed. And then it would be great to put new corneas in eye in the right position, so there wont be any astigmatism and other optical problems left, maybe using measurement by laser or so...little bit of my thoughts, so I better let it on scientist , but I really hope(I am sure of that) they can soon solve this, so the KC wont be a problem anymore.
Sorry for my english,
Igor, Slovakia.