Cell based therapies for glaucoma

Abstract

Stem cells could be useful in the treatment of glaucoma by improving aqueous outflow to lower eye pressure, by protecting retinal ganglion cells directly against glaucoma damage or by facilitating optic nerve regeneration. Stem cell treatments have been shown to reduce retinal ganglion cell death in animal models of glaucoma, demonstrating their potential to slow vision loss due to glaucoma. Future research may pave the way for successful transplantation of stem cells to the retina and enable differentiation into mature retinal ganglion cells able to restore functional connections to the brain, but formidable challenges remain to be overcome.