New research shows how using biosynthetic corneas can help regenerate and repair damaged eye tissue, and give human vision a significant boost. Presented in the journal Science Translational Medicine and funded in part by an EU Marie Curie International Fellowship, the study finds that the optimisation of these implants could provide an effective and safe alternative to donated corneas for patients who need treatment.

People who must replace damaged tissue and treat corneal blindness currently depend on human donor corneas for support. However, the global number of donor corneas is extremely low.

In order to put a lid on this problem, the researchers from Canada's Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI, an affiliate of the University of Ottawa), Linköping University in Sweden and the US-based group FibroGen Inc. carried out an early phase clinical trial with 10 patients to determine how biosynthetic corneas can be used to facilitate endogenous (growing or developing from within) tissue regeneration, thereby helping sideline human donor tissue.

Unprecedented results of the experiment, funded in part by an EU Marie Curie International Fellowship, were that no rejection reaction was experienced by any of the patients, and no extensive immune suppression was needed.

The work involved a clinical trial for 10 Swedes with advanced keratoconus (when the normally round cornea becomes thin and irregular) or central corneal scarring. Each patient received a biosynthetic cornea, and the scientists found that two years after surgery, the cells and nerves from the patients' own corneas had grown into the implant. The 'regenerated' cornea looked normal and had healthy tissue. The scientists discovered that not only did the biosynthetic corneas start generating normal tears, keeping the eye oxygenated, but they also became sensitive to touch. In total, 6 of the 10 patients reported stronger eyesight.