Think cataracts only affect older people? Think again.
Cataracts are a leading cause of vision impairment worldwide. A common misconception is that children can’t get cataracts. However, every year there are over 300,000 new cases of childhood cataract globally. These children do worse not only in terms of vision but also in education and employment.
Cataracts are hard to manage in babies. They need eye surgery to restore vision, followed by years of treatment using thick glasses or contact lenses. This is very challenging for babies and their families.
But scientists have discovered a promising new treatment – lens regeneration – with the potential to treat sufferers both young and old. Dr Michael O’Connor and his team at Western have used stem cells to create human eye lens cells, and then grow them into eye lenses in the laboratory.
Based on this world-leading research, Dr O’Connor has assembled an international team to explore the potential of lens regeneration for childhood cataract, through lens cell transplantation.
Preclinical research is needed to assess the potential viability of this approach.
