Stem Cells

Stargadts disease:

The treatment is based on retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells that have been
grown from embryonic stem cells. A surgeon injects 150 microliters of RPE cells
roughly the amount of liquid in three raindropsunder a patients retina, which is
temporarily detached for the procedure. RPE cells support the retinas
photoreceptors, which are the cells that detect incoming light and pass the
information on to the brain.
Although complete data from the trials of ACTs treatments have yet to be
published, the company has reported impressive results with one patient, who
recovered vision after being deemed legally blind. Now the company plans to
publish the data from two clinical trials taking place in the U.S. and the E.U. in a
peer-reviewed academic journal. Each of these early-stage trials includes 12
patients affected by either macular degeneration or Stargardts disease.
ACTs experimental treatment has its origins in a chance discovery that Irina
Klimanskaya, the companys director of stem-cell biology, made while working
with embryonic stem cells at Harvard University. These cells have the power to
develop into any cell type, and in culture they often change on their own. A neuron
here, a fat cell thereindividual cells in a dish tend to take random walks down
various developmental paths. By supplying the cultures with fresh nutrients but
otherwise leaving them to their own devices for several weeks, Klimanskaya
discovered that the stem cells often developed into darkly pigmented cells that
grew in a cobblestone-like pattern. She suspected that they were developing into
RPE cells, and molecular tests backed her up.
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/526591/stem-cell-treatment-for-
blindness-moving-through-patient-testing/

The stargadts disease is situated in the eye. This condition makes you blind, from
one or both eyes depending were the virus is. Stem cell technology has increased
and patient can now get treated. They use the mother cells to create a new retina
which has been damaged by the disease.


Diabetes:

Diabetes patients lose the function of insulin-producing beta cells within the
pancreas. In recent experiments, scientists have been able to coax embryonic stem
cell to turn into beta cells in the lab. In theory if the beta cell is transplanted
successfully, they will be able to replace malfunctioning ones in a diabetic patient.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem_cell_therapy