February 11, 2005. A Chosun University professor may have found
a way to help the blind see again with experiments on the use of
stem cells on retinal cells. Professor Song Chang-hun said
Friday that his team will ask the government next week to permit
stem cell trials on five blind people, who lost their sight due
to retinitis pigmentosa (RP). ``We plan to isolate stem cells
from umbilical cord blood and inject them into retinal cells
after getting approvals from the Korea Food and Drug
Administration (KFDA),'' the 49-year-old Song said. Late last
month, the KFDA had a meeting with the five RP patients and
Song's team to check the viability of applying the breakthrough
therapy to eyes. RP refers to hereditary disorders of the eye's
retina, the camera-like cell layers that pick up pictures and
transmit them to the brain. The disease damages the retina's
ability to respond to light and further degeneration causes
peripheral sight loss or narrowing of the field of vision, the
reason why RP is called tunnel visi