The cure was so dramatic it surprised even the researchers.
They had injected human adult stem cells into the corneas of mice and, in due time, the scarring and cloudiness that cause corneal blindness completely disappeared.
But the results were more than met the eye.
Repairing corneas with adult stem cells, which already exist in the human eye, signals an advance in stem-cell research that could apply bodywide.
As such, research led by James Funderburgh, an associate professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine's Department of Ophthalmology, is clarifying more than mice corneas. It also points to a day when one's own stem cells can be used to repair one's injuries and cure one's diseases.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09099/961665-115.stm