Concise Review: Using Stem Cells to Prevent the Progression of Myopia—A Concept

The prevalence of myopia has increased in modern society due to the educational load of children. This condition is growing rapidly, especially in Asian countries where it has already reached a pandemic level. Typically, the younger the child's age at the onset of myopia, the more rapidly the c...

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Published inStem cells (Dayton, Ohio) Vol. 33; no. 7; pp. 2104 - 2113
Main Authors Janowski, Miroslaw, Bulte, Jeff W.M., Handa, James T., Rini, David, Walczak, Piotr
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Oxford University Press 01.07.2015
Subjects
Animals
Bone marrow
Dopamine
Eye
Humans
Mesenchymal
Myopia
Myopia - epidemiology
Myopia - prevention & control
Nearsightedness
Parkinson's disease
Sclera
Stem cells
Stem Cells - metabolism
Eye
Nearsightedness
Dopamine
Myopia
Stem cells
Mesenchymal
Sclera
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Summary:The prevalence of myopia has increased in modern society due to the educational load of children. This condition is growing rapidly, especially in Asian countries where it has already reached a pandemic level. Typically, the younger the child's age at the onset of myopia, the more rapidly the condition will progress and the greater the likelihood that it will develop the known sight‐threatening complications of high myopia. This rise in incidence of severe myopia has contributed to an increased frequency of eye diseases in adulthood, which often complicate therapeutic procedures. Currently, no treatment is available to prevent myopia progression. Stem cell therapy can potentially address two components of myopia. Regardless of the exact etiology, myopia is always associated with scleral weakness. In this context, a strategy aimed at scleral reinforcement by transplanting connective tissue‐supportive mesenchymal stem cells is an attractive approach that could yield effective and universal therapy. Sunlight exposure appears to have a protective effect against myopia. It is postulated that this effect is mediated via local ocular production of dopamine. With a variety of dopamine‐producing cells already available for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, stem cells engineered for dopamine production could be used for the treatment of myopia. In this review, we further explore these concepts and present evidence from the literature to support the use of stem cell therapy for the treatment of myopia. Stem Cells 2015;33:2104–2113
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ISSN:1066-5099
1549-4918
DOI:10.1002/stem.1984