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SCT for blindness receives global validation
An idea that stemmed from an intellectual exchange between Dr Virender Sangwan, Director - Srujana Centre for Innovation, Centre for Regenerative Ophthalmology and Clinical Research, and Dr Sheila McNeil, Professor of Regenerative Medicine, Linköping University, Sweden, has revolutionised the world of stem cell medicine today.
An idea that stemmed from an intellectual exchange between Dr Virender Sangwan, Director - Srujana Centre for Innovation, Centre for Regenerative Ophthalmology and Clinical Research, and Dr Sheila McNeil, Professor of Regenerative Medicine, Linköping University, Sweden, has revolutionised the world of stem cell medicine today.
In 2010, the LV Prasad Eye Institute moved away from culturing corneal stem cells in a petri-dish in the laboratory to directly culturing and expanding them on the patient’s eye in a technique known as Simple Limbal Epithelial Transplantation (SLET) and it was adopted by surgeons the world over.
Addressing the media at a press conference in Hyderabad, Dr Sayan Basu, Consultant and Scientist, Cornea and Anterior Segment Services, highlighted the achievement and added that the real test for any scientist is the validation of his work by his peers and the community at large.
“Today we are honoured with the two validations - the first being the recent publication in the British Journal of Ophthalmology published by a group of eight different centres across the globe and the second is the long-term outcome of the 125 cases treated at LVPEI Hyderabad by our teams and the corneal surgeons trained here.”
A pilot clinical trial was done on a small sample size including 125 patients, 65 adults and 60 children who developed unilateral limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) after suffering ocular surface burns and underwent SLET between 2010 and 2014. The results indicated close to 80 per cent success rates. This makes SLET clinically a more effective procedure than all previous techniques including cell cultivation.
According to Dr Virender Sangwan, Director - Srujana Centre for Innovation, Centre for Regenerative Ophthalmology and Clinical Research, “True to its name, SLET allows the marvel of stem cell therapy to be easily accessible to anyone who needs it.” SLET has demolished the invisible walls that had made limbal stem cell transplantation an exclusive procedure.
Earlier it was practiced by only an elite group of ophthalmologists who worked in sophisticated centres with stem cell labs. The LV Prasad Eye Institute is holding an ‘Ocular Surface Workshop’ until March 20. The three-day workshop covers Scleral Lens Workshop Wet-Lab, SLET User’s Meeting Live-Surgical Demonstration and Artificial Cornea Symposium.
