Visual impairment and vision loss can have a profound impact on a person’s ability to live their life and complete their daily routine. According to the report for the 2016 National Health Interview Survey, 25.5 million Adult Americans 18 and older reported experiencing vision loss. Of these 25.5 million American adults, 15.3 million women and 10.1 million men report experiencing significant vision loss.
While some vision loss has been curbed with contact lenses, antibiotics or even surgery, other more serious conditions like macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and inherited retinal degenerations, present greater challenges.
So what options are available?
Stem cell-based therapy.
Some say emerging stem cell technologies could hold the promise of autologous grafts to stabilize vision loss through cellular replacement or paracrine rescue effects. It is believed that since most of the diseases that lead to loss of vision do so as a result of abnormal vasculature and/or neuronal degeneration, the use of stem cells to stabilize or prevent visual loss may hold great promise. Our stem cell team will discuss these treatments, and what, if any approach may significantly address vision loss for stem cell researchers.
This event will feature Rosie Barrero, a patient advocate and clinical trial participant, Dennis Clegg,Co-Director, UCSB Center for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering and Henry Klassen, MD Ph.D, Director, UC Irvine Stem Cell & Retinal Regenerative Program.
Our Facebook Live event, “Ask the Stem Cell Team About Sickle Cell Disease” is– Thursday, November 1st – from noon till 1pm PST. You can join us by logging on to our Facebook.
Also, make sure to “like” our FaceBook page before the event to receive a notification when we’ve gone live for this and future events.
We want to answer your most pressing questions, so please email them directly to us beforehand at info@cirm.ca.gov.
A recording of the session will be available in our FaceBook videos page shortly after the broadcast ends.
We hope to see you there.
The Stem Cellar 
how about any trials for Kids with ADD/ADHD ,APD ,Learning difficulties . is the stem cells could help these people who has minor difficulty or develop their ability to learn .can we get some information .
Dear Ghaz, thanks for the comment. I am sorry to say I haven’t seen any research involving the use of stem cells in children, or adults, with ADD/ADHD, at least none that is yet in the clinical trial phase where they are ready to test it in people.
BGJorgensen@aol.com Does our health plan pay for stem cells? How can we get them? Is this just for eye problems or can we use them for, like lupus, or back problems, alsheimers ? Thank you for the wonderful work you are doing.