{"588926":{"#nid":"588926","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Self-Repaired Eyesight","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers with the Regenerative Engineering and Medicine research center (REM) have developed a new way to identify and sort stem cells that may one day allow clinicians to restore vision to people with damaged corneas using the patient\u0026rsquo;s own eye tissue. They published their findings in\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EBiophysical Journal\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe cornea is a transparent layer of tissue covering the front of the eye, and its health is maintained by a group of cells called limbal stem cells. But when these cells are damaged by trauma or disease, the cornea loses its ability to self-repair.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Damage to the limbus, which is where the clear part of the eye meets the white part of the eye, can cause the cornea to break down very rapidly,\u0026rdquo; said James Lauderdale, an associate professor of cellular biology in the University of Georgia\u0026#39;s (UGA) Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and paper co-author. \u0026ldquo;The only way to repair the cornea right now is do a limbal cell transplant from donated tissue.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn their study, researchers used a new type of highly sensitive atomic force microscopy, or AFM, to analyze eye cell cultures. Created by\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/sulchek\u0022\u003ETodd Sulchek\u003C\/a\u003E, a researcher at the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u0026nbsp;and an associate professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;at Georgia Tech, the technique allowed researchers to probe and exert force on individual cells to learn more about the cell\u0026rsquo;s overall health and its ability to turn into different types of mature cells.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERead the complete story \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.rh.gatech.edu\/news\/588600\/stem-cell-treatment-may-restore-vision-patients-damaged-corneas\u0022\u003Ehere.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Stem cell treatment may restore vision to patients with damaged corneas"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EStem cell treatment may restore vision to patients with damaged corneas\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Stem cell treatment may restore vision to patients with damaged corneas"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2017-03-17 13:11:49","changed_gmt":"2017-05-15 17:25:05","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2017-03-17T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2017-03-17T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"588598":{"id":"588598","type":"image","title":"Todd Sulchek and microfluidic device","body":null,"created":"1489179074","gmt_created":"2017-03-10 20:51:14","changed":"1489179074","gmt_changed":"2017-03-10 20:51:14","alt":"Todd Sulchek and microfluidic device","file":{"fid":"224307","name":"14C10039-P1-004.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14C10039-P1-004.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14C10039-P1-004.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":343279,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/14C10039-P1-004.jpg?itok=n8RjBZUs"}}},"media_ids":["588598"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"171346","name":"go-rem"},{"id":"173016","name":"go-apdc"},{"id":"126221","name":"go-immuno"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}