Japan team proves iPS-based cornea transplant safe in world-1st trial

A Japanese university research team said Monday it has concluded that the world's first clinical trial, spanning over years, transplanting corneal tissues derived from induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, into four almost-blind patients was safe and effective.None of the patients experienced rejection or tumorigenicity of the transplanted cells and all saw improvements in their symptoms, according to the team at Osaka University led by professor Koji Nishida.Three of the patients experienced improved eyesight, with one improving from 0.15 to 0.7, the team said. The iPS cells, devel…READ FULL ARTICLE