RPE dysfunction affects 200 million people around the world and this new procedure could be the cure.
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00:00Blindness affects millions of people around the world, but now scientists say that certain cells taken from the deceased could cure those who can't see.
00:10Retinal pigment epithelium, or RPE, are cells in the eyes that regulate light receptors and move things our eyes need, like nutrients to our eyes, and move waste away from them.
00:19And dysfunction in the RPE is the leading cause of blindness in around 200 million people all over the world.
00:25But now scientists from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in Israel say they have used stem cells to regrow these retinal cells in monkeys.
00:32Dr. Timothy Blankensopp, the study's co-authors, said about the findings,
00:36Human cadaver donor-derived cells can be safely transplanted underneath the retina and replace host function,
00:41and therefore may be a promising source for rescuing vision in patients with retina diseases.
00:46With Blankensopp adding, quote,
00:47What is more, the stem cell-derived RPE partially took over the function of the monkey RPE and was able to support normal photoreceptor function.
00:55The next step, they say, is testing this on primates who suffer from blindness linked to RPE.
01:00The study's results were published in the journal Stem Cell Reports.