Stem Cell Therapies for Retinal Repair and Regeneration (Chapter 12)

Neural cell damage is the main feature of retinal degenerative disorders and constitutes the major cause of blindness in patients affected by retinal disease. Present treatments aim to prevent disease progression but do not reverse lost vision, for which stem cell-based therapies are the only hope for restoration or maintenance of visual function in individuals affected by severe disease. This chapter summarizes recent progress in the stem cell field and describes advances made on the clinical application of these cells for treatment of retinal degeneration. In addition, it highlights research being actively pursued to promote endogenous regeneration of the neural retinaas an alternative to transplantation.