Implants made from pig skin restored vision in 19 people in recent trial

A team of scientists said:We have discovered a new way to help people with damaged corneas. A bioengineered implant made from pig skin. Results from a small clinical trial released this month showed that implants can restore people’s sight for up to two years, including those who are legally blind. blind. If the technology continues to hold promise, it may one day offer mass-produced alternatives to the human corneas for people with these diseases.

The cornea is the transparent outer covering of the eye.In addition to protecting other parts of the eye, it helps us see by focusing the light that passes through it. damage or Certain diseases can leave a permanently damaged cornea that begins to impair vision.about 4 million people idea Suffering from vision-related problems caused by injured corneas is one of the leading causes of blindness, according to the World Health Organization.

The only truly effective treatment for severe corneal injuries is a transplant of A healthy cornea, also called a corneal graft. Unfortunately, like most organs, the human cornea must be used immediately after donation. Supplies are often in short supply, especially for those living in poorer countries. That shortage has spurred efforts by researchers to find other ways to replace or support the damaged cornea, one of which is at the Linköping University of Sweden (LiU). Implants created by researchers in They set up a company called LinkoCare Life Sciences AB to develop it further.

their research, It was published Last week at Nature Biotechnology, the team gave implants to 20 patients in India and Iran. advanced keratoconus, Gradual thinning of the cornea. Subsequently, 19 of her 20 patients experienced significant improvement in vision, and all 14 of her legally blind no longer met that criterion. In addition, patients who needed orthodontic treatment are now able to tolerate contact lenses again. And these increases remained stable after two years, with no reported adverse events.

“The results show that it is possible to develop a biomaterial that meets all the criteria to be used as a human implant, which can be mass-produced and stored for up to two years, It allows us to reach more people with visual impairments,” said the study authors. Mehrdad Rafat, professor of biomedical engineering at LiU and CEO of LinkoCare, said: statement from university.

there is an existing corneal prosthesis in use, So are similar treatments in development. But the researchers say their implant should have some key advantages over these options. Many of these treatments rely on donated corneas to reduce the risk of rejection by the body, but the team’s implants instead rely on a relatively cheap biosynthetic derived from purified pig skin. We use this material to create a thin but durable layer of primarily collagen, the same basic component as the cornea. In the current study, only 8 of him were given to patients. A few weeks of transplant drugs over a year of medication It is usually administered to patients with corneal grafts and no evidence of rejection has been reported.

They have also developed An invasive surgical method for inserting implants. Since there is no need to remove the original cornea, the risk of complications is reduced and it can be used in a variety of locations. with fewer resources. Their other studies also suggest that implant materials should be stable for at least eight years, if not longer.

“We have put a lot of effort into making our inventions widely available and affordable for everyone, not just the wealthy. It can be used anywhere in the world,” says Rafat.

Of course, these findings are still very narrow in scope. Successful results need to be seen in more patients before any country would consider approving this treatment. Studies may be expanded to see if it is effective for other corneal-related conditions.