Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Therapy for the Eye

Recent advances in the field of stem cell biology have led to a new field that has become known as regenerative ophthalmology. The aim of this field is to preserve, repair, or replace ocular cells that have been injured or lost. We now better understand the complexity of how the eye develops, the cellular and regional heterogeneity that builds complex ocular tissues, and how these processes are disordered in disease. Ocular diseases affect the entire age spectrum, and loss of vision significantly affects the quality of life for those with blinding eye conditions. With our aging population, the burden of ocular disease is expected to rise over the next decades. As we enter the age of regenerative medicine, the eye has become the proving ground for first-in-man stem cell clinical trials. This is in part because of its accessibility for minimally invasive surgical approaches to deliver cellular therapeutics, the availability of …