Man Regains Sight After Stem Cell Breakthrough

0:00What's up? I'm Corey, and these are your headlines from Birmingham News today. A 54-year-old man from Homewood is part of a breakthrough in treating traumatic blindness. Field Durst, a former chemical company manager, lost sight in his left eye after a chemical burn from a dishwasher hose in 2017. He endured severe pain and needed help just to get around. Doctors at Massachusetts' eye and ear performed an experimental stem cell procedure on him as the first U.S. patient in the trial. They took healthy cells from his right eye, grew them into a patch, and sewed it onto the damaged cornea with a donor graft. Using his own tissue means no rejection risk. For Durst, the results ended years of agony from cluster headaches and light sensitivity. His mental health improved as he regained independence. Now he can drive, spot buildings from afar, and read text like Soda-Can labels held six inches away. The early trial data shows nearly 90% of treated eyes staying healed after two years.

1:00Dr. Ula Jakunas, who leaves the work, calls it promising for severe corneal injuries. Looking ahead, experts see potential to apply this to other eye layers like the retina. Durst advocates strongly and hopes the treatment reaches major clinics worldwide in coming years. This story is shared with support from our sponsor. Do not just fall asleep. Drifting to what you are listening to, S-O-L-I, solely pillow.com.