Abstract
Presentation Description :
Current surgical treatment of corneal endothelial disease include keratoplasty procedures such as DMEK, DSAEK and PK. Regenerating the corneal endothelium with ocular or non-ocular stem cells is the next generation of available options for endothelial disease. While advances in stem cell biology and tissue engineering techniques have significantly advanced the field, there are still several issues that require attention including safety and regulatory matters before clinical application can be achieved. Steps required for stem cell therapy include a proof-of-concept approach using tissue specific stem/ progenitor cells, establishment of surgical techniques and deriving target cells from ocular and non-ocular precursor cells. This presentation will discuss various autologous and allogeneic sources of precursor cells for regenerating the corneal endothelium.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.