Can Stem Cells be Used to Treat Optic Nerve Damage?
September 6, 2010
I am a 38 year old African American Female, and currently under the care of a retina specialist in St. Louis, Missouri. I was involved in an automobile accident on 5/13/2009 which caused me to lose my sight in my left eye. I was the driver and on impact I was struck in my left eye by the sun visor. After having surgery to remove the blood, I was told by my retina specialist that my optic nerve was badly damaged and due to this damage unfortunately I won’t regain my sight. After several follow up visits it was mentioned that with technology advancing there is talk of “stem cell” treatment for optic nerve damage. I would love to see again out of my left eye and was hoping with today’s technology that would be possible. Please advise on any help that could be available to me. Thank you.
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Comments
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stem cells cannot help you. sorry. you will simply be $10,000 poorer. that’s the brutal truth. consider volunteering in research at a reputable eye center.
Ask individuals who had stem cells transplantation. Research for yourself, then contact these people or doctors they recommend, even if they live overseas. Just consider what is more important. I know one nurse who has MS and she knew US doctors cannot help her (and by the way her husband is a very rich surgeon himself). So she went to Dominican Republic and is fine.
i disagree strongly with this kind of reasoning. it is simply not scientific. if you ask enough people, you will find someone who will say that a certain treatment helped. many people take zinc for a cold and swear it helps. yet every scientific study shows it has no benefit. the “placebo effect” is just too strong. when someone is ill, and they spend $10,000 on a treatment, and the doctor ressures them that it went very well, the patient will actually improve. but that doesn’t mean it works.
my husband is a retired teacher. During the last 5 years he has lost vision in both his eyes due to optic nerve weakness. I want to know whether there is any treatment to cure his blindness from this type of disease. Would stem cell therapy be helpful for this type of disease?
this is a common question here at eyedocnews.
unfortunately, there is, to my knowledge, no proven stem cell treatment available for any optic nerve or retina disease. i advise that you go to a world-class eye institution and volunteer to participate in approved clinical trials. do not pay for any treatment- many places now are taking $10,000 from people for stem cell treatments that are 100% worthless.
Please see these prior posts on the blog regarding stem cell treatments – they will direct you to other resources:
http://eyedocnews.com/003395-a-primer-on-the-use-of-stem-cells-in-ophthalmology/
http://eyedocnews.com/003162-new-online-resource-to-evaluate-stem-cell-treatment-options/
can stem cell therapy help repair optic nerve damage from neuritis?
To my knowledge, stem cells can only help in surface eye disease, like those who get chemical burns or other disease which make the surface opaque.
Presently, it cannot help retina, optic nerve or any other eye disease. i advise, as always, that patients volunteer at world-class eye institutions for research.
My goodness. I’m going through something very similar and also am in St. Louis, MO. On 7/23/10 I was struck in my left eye and received much damage to my optic nerve. I am being treated at the Center for Advanced Medicine at Barnes by Wash U surgeons. My vision is awful and I have double vision. I too was researching stem cells to help me restore vision. God be with you and I hope you find something to help your sight. Stacey
Puja Chanda,23,a patient of damaged optic nerve in both eyes.She had dimini- shed vision at the age of 6-7 yrs.She lost her vision gradually and now is complete blind.What is the treatment?Is stem cell therapy can do or alternatives? Puja Chanda is my elder sister.
My 6-years-old doughter was diagnosed with glioma optic nerve on her right eye in Nov 2008.
We follow up by MRI annually and leave her without any treatment by doctors opinion.
There is also mild posterior extension of this mass in the post contrast images in to the Rt.optic canal.this posterior extension is about 6mm in the last study.Distance of this posterior margin of the mass to the optic chiasma is 23 mm.
I would like to know if any treatment for her.
we typically operate on glioma if it threatens the other eye, for the operation often causes blindness on the operated eye. since it hasn’t reached chiasm, i would think your doctor would advise leaving it alone
I read and still wonders if the article I read below is true:………….
USA DOCTORS: “You are irreversibly blind with no chance of recovering your vision.”
INDIA DOCTORS: “Come home and try our stem cells.”
PATIENT: “I CAN READ. I am sure “they” will be surprised.”
CHENNAI: In February, Shailesh (name changed), a 22-year-old medical student in the US lost his eyesight after swallowing methanol, a toxic alcohol. Doctors there told him that blindness was irreversible. After stem cell therapy in India, Shailesh will soon fly back to the US to literally see his doctors.
He is today able to read and recognise colours. Once back in the US, doctors there would monitor his progress. “I am sure they are going to be surprised,” he said. In his medical reports, doctors had said that he had no chances of regaining vision with or without treatment as his optic nerve had suffered irreversible damage.
Stem cell therapy is still part of clinical trials for ocular diseases in the US, but is not yet recommended as a treatment. In India, therapeutic experiments are less restrictive.
On February 24, Shailesh came to Chennai for treatment. He met stem cell therapist Dr Himanshu Basnal of the Institute of Spinal Injury and Stem Cell Research, Rudrapur and Laksha Hospital in Chennai. The Indian Council of Medical Research has allowed some hospitals to go ahead with stem cell research.
Doctors injected 120 ml of stem cells near the patient’s optic nerve. These cells were drawn from his bone marrow. Stem cells have the ability to grow into specialized cells. After the first shot, Shailesh showed improvement, and procedure was repeated. “These stem cells have managed to regenerate the cells in the optic nerve. He is able to read with glasses now,” said Dr Basnal, who will soon present the case for peer review in a medical journal.
Senior opthalmologists in the city said if proven, the therapy would be a boon for patients who suffer optic nerve damage due to trauma or diabetes. “But, before being adopted as a therapy, a clinical trial on larger groups of patients should be done,” said a senior opthalmologist.
There’s yet hope……..
UK scientists have shown stem cells can be used to successfully stop glaucoma, an eye disorder, in rats. Stem cells were isolated from bone marrow and successfully grafted onto damaged nerves in the eye. This method stopped and partially reversed progression of the disorder, suggesting stem cell therapies for the treatment of glaucoma in humans may be possible in the future.
‘Finding treatments to reverse blindness is no longer in the realm of science fiction. We are doing it in animal models and results are so encouraging that we hope to move forward to testing on humans soon’, said Professor Keith Martin of the University of Cambridge and Addenbrooke’s Hospital, who is leading the study funded by the UK charity Fight for Sight. ‘Stem cell treatment is moving forward very fast in many branches of medicine and we are seeing some of the best results in eyes’, he added.
Glaucoma affects approximately 480,000 people in the UK, usually aged over 40 years. The disorder is caused by a blockage of the drainage tubes in the eye, resulting in a build-up of fluid called aqueous humour. This leads to increased pressure within the eye, ultimately causing blindness due to damage of the optic nerve that transmits signals from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the developed world.
Current treatments for glaucoma involve decreasing the pressure within the eye to prevent nerve damage. But in patients with advanced glaucoma, this treatment cannot help reverse the damage already done to the optic nerve. Stem cell treatment may provide a new therapy to repair this damage.
‘We hope to use cells from patients, taking samples from blood and bone marrow, and modify them. We can then use these stem cells to protect cells from glaucoma and regenerate ones that have been damaged… However, it will be a few more years until these treatments are ready for human clinical trials’, said Professor Martin.
as i have stated many times, stem cell therapy is very promising, but is years away from being used widely, and any “cures” have to be viewed skeptically until the data is published in respected, peer-reviewed literature. everybody knows that legitimate scientists/doctors who engage in breakthrough treatments publish their data in respected, peer-reviewed literature. for example, there is company that sells a drop that reverses cataract, and has many testimonials from patients how their vision has been restored. gee- you would think that the reversal of cataract by a drop, the world’s leading cause of blindness in world, would be front page news and be discussed at every ophthalmology conference. but it’s not. why? because the makers of this drop have not, and have no intention of, submiting their data to a peer-reviewed journal. so anybody with common sense knows it’s a bunch of snake oil.
Dear all, Could someone please post some more comments if heard about the Chennai case. My husband is also suffering from the same disorder. Please help by providing some information.
My father had an accident in last oct.. He had multiple factures on his face and his right eye was damaged.. Doctors concluded that his right eye has lost vision due to optical nerve damage and there is no way he can regain vision.. After doing little research, I came to conclusion that it is indeed true.. But there are research going on to cure this.. Can someone suggest me good site or research centre that are trying to find the solution.. I would like to say in touch with them in hope that soultion will be found soon..
any treatment would be many years in the future, and would involve stem cells, as that seems the only way we can repair damaged or dead tissue. nerve growth factor seemed to hold great promise, but it seems it was much more successful in mice than man. if you still want to follow the research, i advise you check world-class eye centers like bascom palmer, wills, cole etc.
Thanks ari for advice.. As I see u replied in many of responses to volunteer in research at reputable center, do you know any center in india or anything in andhra pradesh that is looking for volunteers..
sorry- i have no info in india.
((Shilpa on August 3rd, 2011 8:17 am
Dear all, Could someone please post some more comments if heard about the Chennai case. My husband is also suffering from the same disorder. Please help by providing some information.))
Hi Shilpa, I read about the Chennai report, but was curious why there weren’t much publicity with such a big achievement. So I emailed to Dr Dong Feng Chen; Associate Scientist, Schepens Eye Research Institute the same question. This was her answer:
Thanks for your e-mail. The story you forward sounds very suspicious to me: (1) I have never heard of it among the ophthalmology society; (2) Injection of 120 ml of cells or any fluid into a human optic nerve is not practical and could cause serious damage to the nerve and the tissues around it; (3) To my knowledge, there has been no scientific proves showing that bone marrow-derived stem cells can turn into optic nerve cells.
I hope these comments help. Currently, our study on optic nerve regeneration has been limited to animals. There are still enormous amounts of work to be done before our findings can be moved to humans, but I can assure you that my lab is committed to these studies until a therapy for blindness is developed in humans.
You can also contact our patient Liaison, Mr. Richard Godfrey (who is cced in this e-mail) for further information about other related research going on in our Institute or for being added in our mailing list for future news letters. Meanwhile, you may also check the web site of our Institute at http://www.schepens.harvard.edu/ to follow our progress.
My friend has been blind from Sjögren’s syndrome for many years. Would stem cell treatment benefit her?
what is the source of the blindness?
She has about 1% vision left, and it is demyelination of the optic nerve, similar to that of Multiple sclerosis.
I am being treated for advanced glacoma. My sight is not good at ll. The pressures on my eyes have come down siginificantly but, my sight had been affected drastically. I WOULD LIKE TO BE A VOLUNTEER FOR STEM CELL THERAPHY I RATHER NOT WAIT UNTIL I GO COMPLETELY BLIND. PLEASE HELP ME!! THANKS
as usual, i advise contacting a world-class eye hospital
Hey this the patient from chennai and the treatment worked but it maybe because i got the treatment weeks after the incident while in the acute phase.not 100%, but about enough to read and be independent.i advise taking a shot since it cant be worse than it is. Let me know if u any have any question.
again, i advise going to a world class eye hospital for this kind of experimental treatment. success for a patient here or there is not “evidence”. every failed treatment in the history of man always had initial success with some patients. true, you make have “nothing to lose”, except for thousands of dollars- so it depends on how much disposable money you have.
My youngest son, Jason at the age of 24 lost his eye sight in both eyes. He is now 29 years old. His diagnosis is optic nerve atrophy. Where can he get help?
again, i advise going to a world class eye hospital in your area
I had an accident and i got same problem. Doctors from my place (kerala) sid there is no much treatment for optic nerve damage. I am now undergoing ayurvedic treatment in kerala. Dont know what extend i will get my vision back
RECENTLY MY MOTHER LOST HER VISION and it was diagnosed as optic neuritis I took her to the hospital she had sight in one of her eye but they did not diagnosed her and they send her to a eye dr and while i drove her to eye Dr she lost her vision completely in both eye the eye Dr send her to different hospital and she is taking medication now and she thing the her eye sight come back as I read online it wont that is killing me made me to cry day and night to the point that my eyes got dried I read lots about stem cell some one says it does and some one says it wont but as any one tried Acell
http://www.acell.com/
it grows finger by just rubbing it to a to the finger that has been cut would it be possible if it be rubbed to some where close to the optic nerve from on the face or head that might make your body to fix the damage nerve and grow new nerve
I got stem cells therapy and it worked for me. Stem cells are the only option so search reguvating center phoenix az
as i always say, go to a reputable, world-class institution that publishes its data in respected, peer-reviewed journals. otherwise, you are throwing away money. the american academy of ophthalmology’s panel of experts came out recently with a statement about stem cell therapy, basically stating the same thing. and trust me- if stem cells worked, the academy would be pushing hard to make it available and widespread
Struck in my son’s left eye and damage his optic nerve. He is 7 year old .I am being treated in Delhi & Chennai. But no any positive response. plz. help & sugges me.Thx.
I had a stroke and my optic nerve was damaged.I lost 75% of my perifial vision.I went to a Nero optomolgist and he said there is no technology to repair my nerve.it looks as though im looking through a shade through the upper part of my eye.Could stem cells help? Please contact me and let me know something.Im tired of living my last eight years like this! Thanks Mr Miller.
please see our “Stem Cell” category for resources and prior posts.
I have an 89 year old retired Sheriff who had an accident several years ago and got stabbed by an oleander plant that has blinded him in both eyes almost completely and would love for anyone that has reputable information on a research center that is looking for participation to please let us know, as he would love to be able to have some sight back and to see and get around again before he passes and does have the monies to travel. Thank you all. xoxoxo
please refer to irv aron’s list.
I have optic atraphy in both eye no vision at all in left and little vision in the right. is there any trials of stem cell treatments in the uk for this condition. I am now 45 and have been legal blind for about 41 years.
i got an accident in which i lost my right eye vision.doctors said i lost my optic nerve.
is there any tretment in ayurvedic or any other.
perhaps stem cells, in many years, will offer you hope.
As per my eye surgeon:
Quote>
Instead, the nature of your retinal detachment led to a reduction of blood into the eye (similar to a stroke of the eye). To date we do not have a way to improve circulation to the eye once it has been lst.
Un Quote>
Is there any cure or recommendation from your end to rectify my problem.Please advise.
Thanks
Ajaz
none. i’m sorry.
i am taking about my mother problem in the both eyes before 2 years back an accident was happened at my home my neighbours damage the both eyes with sharp weapons and after that we meet shankara nintarlay eye hospital chennai and there doctors advice us to immediate eye surgery and told me that yours mother optic nerve completely damaged she cant see any more but i saw recent past news paper through stem cell it is possible to regenration of optic nerve up to certain extent is there any possibility plz conform through mail .Thank you
My wife has been detected Glaucoma about two years back. She had cataract surgery for both the eyes. At the time of surgery of the second eye, the Doctor had to postpone the surgery because of pressure in the eye. But surprisingly the Doctor, supposed to be a leading Eye Surgeon from West, India did not measure the pressure after the surgery and also never cautioned us to get the pressure checked regularly. After moving to South, my wife was constantly complaining of the spects. So, we visited the Docotor and got the spects changed. As this was happening pretty frequently, we visited one of the leading Eye Clinics and there the field tests revealed the Glaucoma, in both the eyes and damage has been done to a large extent. As told by the Doctor, the optic nerve got damaged and was told the silent killer cannot be reversed. Being a professional architect, a good painter and a regular reader, was totally taken back and it was a rude shock. We did consult some of the known Eye clinics and the result was same. She has been using the eye drops with a fervent hope that the situation does not deteriorate further. Would be happy to know whether the Stem cell research has lead to any cure for Glaucoma? Also whether Homeopathy and Ayurveda offer any hope for such cases. Hope to get responses on the above. Also would request the Doctor community to specifically check the eye pressure, after cataract surgeries and also caution the patients reg Glaucoma.
no- stem cells and homeopathy are worthless. dont throw away your good money.
I have been diagnosed with Nuero Myelitis Optica and I have lost half of my vision. Nuero Myelitis Opitica (NMO) (varient of MS) is a autoimmune disease and unforunately attacks my optic nerve. I’m in San Diego and hoping to find stem cell information that could potentially help my optic nerve and help me get my eye sight back. I also heard a little bit about stem cells helping the blind see and I was not sure if that would apply towards me. If so, please respond and let me know if there are any clinics and or special treatment facilities I can go to.
Thanks, Pam
please consult the list in the stem cell section here, or consult a world-class eye research center. many dangerous, unregulated centers are out there, ready to take your money on unproven treatments.
@ ari, just want to say thank you, like others my search for a treatment for my 7 year old child, who is slowly going blind, he has a mutation in the gene OPA1 and no name for the illness. I was at the point of contacting Vista stem cell in china for information on their $35.000 treatment. I live in France, and no research is done on this. To all the hopefuls I would like to say that pleas dont fall for the treatments, like you all I would be willing to do anything for him to regain his eyes even give my own, but have to admit for the moment nothing can be done. Just try and help him have a happy child hood and make him stronger to face the hard life of a handicapped adult.
My ex husband was badly burned in a motorcycle accident in 1997, there was no head trauma or eye damage from the accident. He was placed in a coma during burn treatments for approx. 4 months. when he was removed from the induced coma he was completely blind. doctors said it was cupping of optic nerve from unknown cause. would stem cell treatment work.
no. im very sorry. hopefully in the future.
Hi everyone. I had a problem with my father who had lost vision about six and half years ago. Then afterwards we came to know that he had the disease of Toxic Optic Neuropathy (TON). He is now totally blind. He is suffering a lot. In our country we consulted with many docs but their reply is negative. Other then we tried to know for the above disease to cure in India,Ukraine,USA and Singapore but they failed to reply us about the treatment of above disease. Is there any stem cell treatment about TON around the whole world? If anyone knows detail about it can reply me.
I had a stroke in 2002 and because of optic nerve damage I had 35% vision lost. I was wondering about possible stem cell trials to repair this damage??
none at this time. please see irv’s stem cell list of projects
Hi everybody! I am so glad I came across this page. 2 weeks ago I suffered a motorbike accident and the brilliant spark that I am, I wasn’t wearing a helmet. I was knocked unconscious for 10 minutes, during which my wife with the help of bystanders immediately took me to the nearest hospital. When I opened my eyes I found that I had no vision in my left eye. Several high resolution CT orbit scans have been done and no fracture to the optic nerve has been observed. My eye doctor has advised me to simply accept reality and be thankful that I still have vision in one eye. He says unfortunately no pioneering research in stem cell therapy has yielded anything yet. But one still hopes. Keep us posted if anything comes up in this area.
Thank you Ari for responding to all the above queries.
My son is 27 years old and born in the US. He has been born with mild cerebral palsy which affect his optic nerve and his left side. He is legally blind. He sees better with left eye better rather than his right . He reads large print and wears a spectacle for distance which helps him walk and get around to some extent. I am hearing about stem cell research and I hope it will help him restore his sight and help him to see better. If anyone hear of anything or any trials please let me know. I’m willing to try anything to let my son restore his sight. Thanks rani
No, I don’t have any insights to contribute.
I am 47 with optic nerve atraphy. Is there any stem cell treatment for this condition.
I have been blind since age 5 and would be interested in any of the reasearch into this subject.
Terry
none. sorry. it will be many years. feel free to consult the stem cell section here to see if there are any trials in your arae
Dear all
My father had a methanol intoxication and after a year he cannot see. (just little light)
does anyone know is there any treatment for this kind of blindness?
im afraid there is none.
Where are these “world-class eye research centers located?”
Where are the world-class eye research centers located?
Check out the centers collaborating in ACTC’s stem cell trials.
See: http://www.advancedcell.com/patients/clinical-trial-information/
Also check out: http://www.closerlookatstemcells.org/
hello all,
my bother sufering from macro pitutary adenoma, after doing all surgery and necessory treatments we found his recovery well m but actually his left eye optic nerve is damage ? is any way to get recover optic nerve in this condiiton. please suggest me doctors name so i will try to contact then directly
please go to our stem cell section regarding research centers that might help.
About 12 years back, my wife got injured in Left Eye due to accidental burst of Cracker on the eye. Lot of treatment was done in India but a permanent Scar developed on the Ratina, which disabled her to see through her left eye. Doctor’s told that some of her Optical nerves were also damaged in the accident. Can anybody help with a solution so as to regain the eye-sight of my wife?
nothing can help if retina and nerve damaged. sorry.
My mom, who is 82, recently, about 5-6 weeks ago had shingles. The shingles is gone but my mom has Postherpetic neuralgia. The neuralgia has affected her right eye. Her right eye is extremely sensitive to light and she has pain around the orbital. She has been prescribed gabapentin(300 mg 3 times a day and a corticosteroid eye drop. Although some of the pain has subsided the eye pain is debilitating and doesn’t seem to be improving, at least not much. The Opthamologist also gave her eye drops that dilate her pupils. He says that the nerve, assuming optic nerve, has been damaged and is causing the eye muscles that open and close the pupils are spasmsatic causing the eye pain, hence the eye drops to dilate the pupils. Are there any other remedies or treatments available. This doesn’t seem to be working, at least not much.
dilating drops, steroid drops- these are what we can give. the gaba pills are also typical. i dont have any other good ideas. in debilitating cases, we can give injection to numb the eye, but only in blind eyes do we consider that. consider non-steroidal drops like acular