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Biomedicine and Molecular Biology

Zigor Aldama

Correspondent

Àsia

The end of blindness?

China has been at the forefront of medical experimentation with stem cells. A clinic in Qingdao city claims it can restore sight to the blind.

15 March 2010

Zigor Aldama | Shanghai

Photo: Vern Hart

Sight and hearing are the senses that emphasize the human beings according to an unscientific survey conducted by this correspondent among friends and acquaintances. They are followed by the taste and touch. Smell is the sense we would go without easiest if necessary. Therefore, it is not surprising that one of the main objectives of medical science has always been restoring sight to the blind. At first that meant a proliferation of ideas like connecting a camera to the optic nerve or directly to the brain. However, the evolution of the technique seems to have derived to a very different context: that of stem cell research.

And China has taken the lead in this difficult field of infinite applications that arouses a fierce controversy. One possibility that seems to arise is the cure of blindness, according to the Hospital of the Chenyang People of the city of Qingdao, where they use the techniques developed by Beike Biotech, a company pioneering the use of stem cells, capable of identifying where the damage is and repairing it. Several cases appear to corroborate that the miracle is possible, though the international scientific community is sceptical.

The best known is that of Dakota Clarke, a British girl who was born with septo-optic dysplasia, or Morsier syndrome, and was unable to see anything. However, after several months of umbilical stem cell therapy in Chenyang, which involves the injection of these cells from a donor, she is now able to see two and a half meters, and recognize her parents. Still, the treatment has cost them £ 30,000 and they need more funds to continue the treatment for Dakota's vision to continue improving. But, Darren Clarke, her father, says in an interview to the The Mirror, Dakota can see now. "And that is nothing but a miracle".

The case of Macie Morse is even more impressive. This young American of 17 years of age was born with a hypoplastic optic nerve and, after spending 16 years in the shadows, in July 2008 she began to distinguish shapes and colours. Soon she could even distinguish the letters, and now begins a new stage in her life and is even learning to drive.

With this curriculum, it is not surprising that Beike Technology has achieved international fame, and is achieving significant funds to continue their research efforts that go beyond the cure of blindness. Last April, the company opened a new and impressive research centre of 20,000 square meters, and the last contribution was 1.8 million dollars, for its centre in Shenzhen, southeast of China. Hundreds of foreigners with vision problems test their luck with this treatment, which also the Chinese themselves begin to join. In this blog one can follow how the treatment of these patients is step by step.

Sean Hu, the founder of the company, has become a star of research in China, although, like many others, he was trained abroad. He carried out his doctorate in biochemistry at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, but prefers to establish his business in the fastest growing country in the world. And he believes in what he does. "Regenerative medicine is the future, and its centre will be in Asia", he says. But "these stem cell treatments are no panacea, and only work with specific diseases, although its range is quickly widened". Ataxia, autism, brain trauma, diabetes, and a long list of ailments that were considered incurable until now.

"The treatment is done in different phases, although already in the initial phase great advances may be observed in the patient. 20% return for more sessions". The rest may not have the necessary capital. "Cytokines have to be imported from the West, and that raises the cost a lot. But as soon as we can produce them in China, it is expected that these treatments can be extended to a much larger population mass".

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3 comments

veronica 05/12/2010
pues mi amiga llevo hasta alla a su hijo y no le funciono el tratamiento, y el gasto es excesivo, por favor digan la verdad no nos engañen ya que tenemos esperanzas

Lilly 21/03/2010
Both Macie and Dakota are back in China for the second round of treatments. We helped them to get their story out for it to raise more money. See www.stemcellaware.com. I believe that with the economy how it is, the number of patients that can return is a lot less. I think the number of patients that can go the first time for treatments these days is a lot less. One day it will be in the US and insurance will cover it and everyone will have access to it.

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