Authors:
Ben Mead, Ann Logan, Martin Berry, Wendy Leadbeater, & Ben A Scheven
First Paragraph of Perspective:
The functional loss that occurs after retinal/optic nerve injury is permanent and can arise through trauma or neurodegenerative conditions such as glaucoma. Neurotrophic factors (NTFs) promote survival of injured retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and regeneration of their axons, suggesting their clinical utility to prevent further damage and restore lost function. Delivery of optimal concentrations of NTFs to RGCs is difficult to achieve by injection but single implants of stem cells which naturally secrete multiple NTFs for sustained periods better addresses this problem. This review discusses a relatively new source of adult stem cells, the dental pulp stem cells, and compares their efficacy and feasibility with other stem cells, such as the well-studied bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), in the context of cellular therapy for the retina.
Source:
Neural Regeneration Research; Vol. 9, Issue 6, 577-578 (05/15/14)