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NEI Research News

Thanks to the work of NEI scientists and grantees, we’re constantly learning new information about the causes and treatment of vision disorders. Get the latest updates about their work — along with other news about NEI.

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Researchers investigate neuron differentiation in fruit fly brains

Researchers from the University of Illinois shed light on how neural stem cells called neuroblasts divide multiple times to sequentially produce neurons of specialized function.

Putting stem cell-based therapies in context

Rogue clinics offer stem cell-based therapies that haven’t been tested for safety and efficacy. When communicating to the public about stem cell-based therapies, it is important to put any treatment claims in context.

NEI researchers home in on a new cause of Stargardt disease

Using a new stem-cell based model made from skin cells, scientists found the first direct evidence that Stargardt-related ABCA4 gene mutations affect a layer of cells in the eye called the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE).
RPE cell

NEI scientists publish protocol for making patient-derived eye tissue

The protocol gives step-by-step instructions, starting with patient-derived pluripotent stem cells, transitioning them to retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells and finally maturing them into RPE tissue.
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First U.S. patient receives autologous stem cell therapy to treat dry AMD

The patient received the therapy as part of a clinical trial that is the first in the United States to use replacement tissues from patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells.
Photoreceptor precursors

Progress toward a stem cell–based therapy for blindness

A multi-institutional effort led by researchers at the UPenn School of Veterinary Medicine is taking steps to develop an effective technique to regenerate photoreceptors cells and restore sight in people with vision disorders.
NEI AGI audacious Goals Initiative for Regenerative Medicine

NEI's regenerative medicine initiative making progress toward its audacious goal

A new report outlines progress toward the National Eye Institute's Audacious Goals Initiative (AGI), an effort to restore vision through research in regenerative medicine. The report, published in Nature Medicine.
Multicolored image of photoreceptors and their long connecting processes, called axons, within a stem cell-derived retinal organoid

U. Wisconsin eye research uncovers how stem cell photoreceptors reach their targets

A new study reveals how photoreceptors grown from stem cells might extend biological wires, known as axons, to contact existing neurons.
retina blood vessels

Indiana University-led study shows human induced pluripotent stem cells improve visual acuity, vascular health

Researchers improved vision in a type 2 diabetes mouse model by reprogramming blood cells into endothelial cells with vessel reparative properties similar to endothelial colony forming cells.
Cone photoreceptors from retinal organoids

UW study finds photoreceptor cells from retinal organoids can replicate key function of vision

Researchers from the U. of Wisconsin have shown that a retinal cell type derived from human pluripotent stem cells is capable of the complex process of detecting light and converting that signal to electrical waves.