Neural Stem Cell Institute, Regenerative Research Foundation, One Discovery Drive, Rensselaer, NY12144, USA.
Regen Med. 2012 Nov;7(6 Suppl):32-9. doi: 10.2217/rme.12.77.
Vision loss is a major social issue, with more than 20 million people over the age of 18 years affected in the USA alone. Loss of vision is feared more than premature death or cardiovascular disease, according to a recent Society for Consumer Research group survey. The annual direct cost of medical care for the most prevalent eye disease, age-related macular degeneration, was estimated at US$255 billion in 2010 with an additional economic impact of US$88 billion due to lost productivity and the burden of family and community care for visual disability. With the blossoming of human stem cell research, regenerative treatments are now being developed that can help reduce this burden. Positive results from animal studies demonstrate that stem cell-based transplants can preserve and potentially improve vision. This has led to new clinical trials for several eye diseases that are yielding encouraging results. In the next few years, additional trials and longer-term results are anticipated to further develop ocular regenerative therapies, with the potential to revolutionize our approach to ophthalmic disease and damage.
视力丧失是一个重大的社会问题，仅在美国，就有超过 2000 万人受到影响，年龄在 18 岁以上。根据最近消费者研究协会的一项调查，视力丧失比早逝或心血管疾病更令人恐惧。最常见的眼部疾病——年龄相关性黄斑变性，其 2010 年的年直接医疗费用估计为 2550 亿美元，由于生产力下降以及家庭和社区为视力残疾提供护理的负担，其经济影响额外增加了 880 亿美元。随着人类干细胞研究的蓬勃发展，现在正在开发再生疗法，可以帮助减轻这种负担。动物研究的积极结果表明，基于干细胞的移植可以保存并可能改善视力。这导致了几种眼部疾病的新临床试验，取得了令人鼓舞的结果。在未来几年，预计会有更多的试验和更长期的结果，以进一步开发眼部再生疗法，有可能彻底改变我们治疗眼部疾病和损伤的方法。
