A real epiphany

American doctors restored blind woman's eyesight with stem cells

NV.ua based on ScienceAlert: A blind woman has regained sight following a controversial stem cell treatment

A Baltimore resident underwent surgery, during which stem cells were extracted from her bone marrow and injected into the retina of her right eye and the optic nerve of her left. After that, her vision partially recovered after several years of blindness.

"When I realized that I could see license plates, we started walking around the area and reading them," says Vanna Belton, who underwent surgery, adding that for the first time since 2009 she can move without a cane.

Meanwhile, the actions of the doctor who performed the operation look doubtful. The fact is that ophthalmologist Jeffrey Weiss cut too many corners to try out the technique. He did not conduct animal tests, did not do computer simulations, did not conduct tests on a small group of participants. He also bypassed the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which issues permits for drug trials in humans, taking advantage of the fact that stem cells are not classified as a drug.

In addition, Weiss himself cannot answer the question of how the technique he used works. "We didn't know how penicillin worked for a long time, but it still saved a lot of lives," says Dr. Weiss. "It's arrogant to believe that something can't work until you know how it works."

It should be noted that by law, Vanna Belton is still considered blind. Her vision only partially returned to her. She will have new injections, but the woman was warned that they can both improve her eyesight and spoil the effect already rendered. In addition to Belton, Weiss has another 277 patients deprived of vision.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  02.03.2016