Stem cells are planned ultimately for treating everything: from new hearts to new testicles.

British researchers at the University of Sheffield are now trying to make new eyes. Not exactly eyes, but retinal tissues, a fact that would restore vision to many blind people.

A handful of patients with age-related macular degeneration have already benefited from positive results by employing cells from the patients' own eyes.

But in five years, researchers plan to get retinal cells grown from stem cells and to perfect the technique.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects about 14 million people over 60s across Europe. It can be dry (90% of cases) and wet (10%) and is caused by the degeneration of retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE), a scaffold layer for the sensory cells of the retina. This induces the impairment of the macula, central extremely sensitive retina and gradually erases central vision.

Wet AMD can be treated, the dry AMD not. In wet AMD, cells from the healthy periphery of the eye can be inserted into the affected area, but this surgery can present complications, takes over two hours and requires two operations.

RPE cells from embryonic stem cell would be a faster, easier and more available variant.
They could be turned into a layer that can be inserted into the patient's eye during a simple 45-minute operation. Lab tests of the technique made on rats proved successful.
RPE cells have been grown in the laboratory from stem cells, but they must be tested in human trials for safety issues, a time consuming phase.

"Using stem cells - which are far more adaptable - can only improve success of what has already been achieved and in addition establish this as a global therapy. The goal is within five years to have a cohort of patients to put the cells into," said Professor Pete Coffey, director of the project.

More operations will be also made with the patients' eye cells in the case of dry AMD to see the procedures' effectiveness.