Stemedica Discovers Significant Breakthrough in the Use of Stem Cells and Stem Cell Factors for the Treatment of Retinal Degeneration
7/1/09
Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc., (“Stemedica“),a leader in the manufacturing and development of clinical grade allogeneic adult stem cell technology, has discovered a significant breakthrough in the use of human stem cells and stem cell factors for the potential treatment of degenerations of the retina and retinal pigmented epithelium. Retinal degenerations include diseases such as Retinitis Pigmentosa, which are hereditary conditions in which abnormalities of the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) within the eye lead to progressive vision loss. According to one of the study’s Principle Investigators, Dr. Paul Tornambe, “The results from this pre-clinical experiment are exciting. It allows researchers and clinicians to push the envelope in the quest to use stem cells to modulate diseases like Retinitis Pigmentosa.” There is currently no medical treatment that can completely cure Retinitis Pigmentosa – an eye disease that affects approximately 1,500,000 people on a worldwide basis each year.
An international consortium of prominent researchers and clinicians were assembled by Stemedica to fully explore the application of its proprietary lines of stem cells and stem cell factors for treatment of Retinal Degeneration in a pre-clinical environment. Their discoveries provide great promise for treating this disease at a clinical level. “We knew the team assembled had the experience and expertise to fully explore how stem cells and stem cell factors might be applied in the possible treatment of Retinal Degeneration that may apply to Retinitis Pigmentosa in the future”, said Nikolai Tankovich, MD, PhD, Stemedica’s President and Chief Medical Officer. “While there have been similar results achieved with our stem cells and factors in the experimental treatment of neurological diseases, we did not expect that these efforts would provide the kind of breakthrough results that have been achieved in our ophthalmological study.”
Read the full article at http://www.prweb.com/releases/stemedica-stem-cells/Retinitis-Pigmentosa/prweb2592164.htm
