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Patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for the study and treatment of retinal degenerative diseases
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for the study and treatment of retinal degenerative diseases

Luke A Wiley, Erin R Burnight, Allison E Songstad, Arlene V Drack, Robert F Mullins, Edwin M Stone and Budd A Tucker
Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, Vol.44, pp.15-35
01/2015
DOI: 10.1016/j.preteyeres.2014.10.002
PMID: 25448922

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Abstract

Vision is the sense that we use to navigate the world around us. Thus it is not surprising that blindness is one of people's most feared maladies. Heritable diseases of the retina, such as age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, are the leading cause of blindness in the developed world, collectively affecting as many as one-third of all people over the age of 75, to some degree. For decades, scientists have dreamed of preventing vision loss or of restoring the vision of patients affected with retinal degeneration through drug therapy, gene augmentation or a cell-based transplantation approach. In this review we will discuss the use of the induced pluripotent stem cell technology to model and develop various treatment modalities for the treatment of inherited retinal degenerative disease. We will focus on the use of iPSCs for interrogation of disease pathophysiology, analysis of drug and gene therapeutics and as a source of autologous cells for cell transplantation and replacement.
Cell Transplantation Gene Therapy Retinal degeneration Induced pluripotent stem cells CRISPR-based genome editing

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