Apologies for cross posting.

Colleagues may be interested in press release as per below from the people
at Mary Ann Liebert.
This week's New Scientist today published an article on this very same
subject  :
<http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10125-stem-cells-put-a-stop-to-macula
r-degeneration-.html>

 For immediate release

Contact: Vicki Cohn, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., (914) 740-2100, ext. 2156,
[log in to unmask]

Stem Cell-Derived Treatment Rescues Vision
in Rat Model of Degenerative Eye Disease

New Rochelle, NY, September 21, 2006-Embryonic stem cells can serve as a
renewable source of replacement tissue to rescue visual function in rats
with degenerative eye disease similar to age-related macular degeneration, a
leading cause of blindness in humans, according to a report to be published
in the Fall 2006 (Volume 8, Number 3) issue of Cloning and Stem Cells, a
peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The paper is
available online ahead of print at www.liebertpub.com/clo
<http://www.liebertpub.com/clo>
	Robert Lanza, M.D. and Irina Klimanskaya, Ph.D. at Advanced Cell Technology
(Worcester, MA), and Raymond Lund, Ph.D. and colleagues at the University of
Utah Health Science Center (Salt Lake City) generated retinal pigment
epithelium (RPE)-the cells that support photoreceptor function in the
eye-from human embryonic stem cell lines grown in culture in the laboratory.
They transplanted the engineered tissue into the eyes of rats that had a
defect in their RPE. This defect results in the loss of photoreceptors and
visual function.
	The authors reported 100% improvement in visual performance (spatial
acuity) in treated animals compared to an untreated control group, and the
transplanted RPE cells did not cause any pathology.  In the treated rats,
spatial acuity, or the ability to see fine detail, was approximately 70%
that of normal rats (that had no RPE defect).
	"These observations are very exciting as they show that one day it will be
possible to treat diseases of human eyes with cells," says Ian Wilmut,
Ph.D., Editor-In-Chief of Cloning and Stem Cells and director of the Centre
for Regenerative Medicine, in Edinburgh, Scotland. "They also emphasize the
great potential benefit of research with human embryo stem cells, in this
case for cell therapy."
	Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in persons over age
60 in the United States and affects more than 30 million people worldwide.
Embryonic stem cells would offer a readily available, safe, and reproducible
source of replacement tissue to restore photoreceptors damaged or destroyed
by disease and to restore a range of visual functions.
	Ongoing advances in tissue engineering and new methods for cultivating ESCs
may lead in the future to the development of RPE cell lines less likely to
trigger an immune reaction response in transplant recipients, offering
improved options for cell therapy.
	Cloning and Stem Cells is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published
quarterly in print and online that focuses on understanding developmental
plasticity and defining the molecular mechanisms that regulate
differentiation or dedifferentiation of nuclei and cells. Tables of contents
and a free sample issue may be viewed online at www.liebertpub.com/clo
<http://www.liebertpub.com/clo>.
	Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., is a privately, held, fully integrated media
company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many
promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Human Gene
Therapy, Stem Cells and Development, and Tissue Engineering. Its
biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering News (GEN), was the first
in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication
worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 60 journals, books, and
newsmagazines is available at www.liebertpub.com
<http://www.liebertpub.com>.


Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.    140 Huguenot St., New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215
www.liebertpub.com <http://www.liebertpub.com/>
         		  Phone: (914) 740-2100    (800) M-LIEBERT    Fax:  (914)
740-2101


Thank you for your interest,
Theo van de Bilt,

van de Bilt Sales & Marketing Ltd.,
Forgandenny - High Wych,
Sawbridgeworth - Herts - CM21 0HX,
United Kingdom,
Telephone fax (+44) (0)1279 725468
e-mail : [log in to unmask]



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