Stem Cell Therapies

Stem Cell Therapy

Optic neuropathy can be described as a condition in which there is damage to the optic nerve. Optic neuropathy could also mean the destruction and death of nerve cells. Some of the signs and symptoms of optic neuropathy include loss of vision, loss of vision color, especially in the affected eye. This condition can be examined using the ophthalmoscope. Patients might not be aware of the disorder until the optician asks them to cover the healthy eyes. Optic neuropathy can also be referred to as optic neuritis. This is a term that describes the loss of the nerve fibers in the optic nerve. Basically, optic atrophy is what happens at the end of any disease that causes damage to the retinal ganglion cells and the lateral geniculate body. This disease can also be linked to multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is a condition that leads to the inflammation of the nerves and the spinal cord. Optic neuritis is usually one of the early symptoms of the disease. Treatment is made by administering steroids. Steroids tend to increase the rate of vision recovery. Physicians can buy stem cells online that can be used for the treatment of optic neuropathies.

What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Optic Neuropathy

Optic neuropathy usually affects just one eye. Some of the signs and symptoms of the disease include the following;

  1. Discomfort in the eye: People affected by optic neuropathy usually complains of pain in the affected eye, which is worsened by eye movement. The pain might feel like a slight ache behind the eye.
  2. Loss of vision in the affected eye: People affected by optic neuropathy usually complains of a transient loss of vision in the affected eye. However, the severity of the vision loss differs in people. The vision loss develops progressively over time, which could span from weeks to months. The loss of vision might be permanent in some cases.
  3. Loss of vision color: Optic neuritis often affects color The patient might observe that colors appear less vivid like they used to.
  4. Flashing lights: People affected by the disease do complain of seeing flashing lights. This flashing light does occur when they move their eyes.

What Are The Causes Of Optic Neuropathy?

The exact cause of optic neuropathy is not known yet, however, it’s believed it might be caused by an immune system abnormality. The immune system sometimes fails to recognize the body tissues, hence, they tend to attack the tissues. This is what happens in optic neuritis. The antibodies attack the myelin sheath of the nerves. The function of the myelin sheath is to increase the speed of the conduction of impulses from one nerve to another. Optic neuritis interrupts and destroys this process, leading to an abnormal vision, or loss of vision in severe cases. Below are some of the conditions that are associated with optic neuritis;

  1. Multiple sclerosis: Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease in which antibodies attack the myelin sheath of the nerves of the central nervous system. The components of the central nervous system include the brain and the spinal cord. People that have had multiple sclerosis have a 50% chance of having optic neuritis later in life. The risk becomes greater when the MRI machine shows there are some lesions in the brain.
  2. Neuromyelitis Optica: This is a condition in which there is inflammation in the brain and also in the spinal cord. This medical condition is similar to multiple sclerosis, however, neuromyelitis doesn’t lead to damages in the brain nerves as often as multiple sclerosis.
  3. Medications: There are some drugs that are associated with the development of optic neuritis. Some of the drugs include antibiotics and quinine drugs.
  4. Other diseases: There are some diseases that increase the risk of developing optic neuritis. Some of the diseases are sarcoidosis and lupus erythematosus. These diseases can also cause optic neuropathies.
  5. Infections: There are some infectious diseases that increase the risk of developing optic neuropathies. Some of them include bacterial infections such as Lyme disease, syphilis, and viral infections such as measles, herpes and mumps infection.

What Are The Risk Factors Of Optic Neuropathies?

  1. Age: This mostly affects young adults, especially people between the ages of 20 and 40.
  2. Gender: It has been observed that optic neuropathies tend to occur more in males, as compared to females. 
  3. Race: According to surveys and studies, optic neuropathies occur more in white people, than in other races.
  4. Genetics: Genetic mutation is a process whereby the normal genes are altered abnormally. This increases the risk of developing optic neuritis.

What Are The Complications Of Optic Neuropathies?

Below are some of the complications that may arise from optic neuritis. Some of them include;

  1. Damage to the optic nerve: Some patients do experience temporary vision loss, while some do have permanent vision loss. Generally, the optic nerve damage does not cause any symptoms.
  2. Reduction in visual acuity: The majority of people affected by optic neuropathy do recover, and have a normal vision after some months, however, they might still experience a loss of vision color.
  3. Side effects of medications: The medication used in treating optic neuritis often leads to the suppression of the immune system. This exposes the body to different kinds of infections. Other side effects of steroid drugs are rapid weight gain and mood swings.

How Is Optic Neuropathy Currently Treated?

Most cases of optic neuropathies do resolve on their own. However, steroids are used for the treatment of optic neuritis. The steroid treatment is usually given intravenously. This increases the rate of recovery. This is also used in diseases such multiple sclerosis to reduce the progress of the disease. Plasma exchange has also been suggested to help in the treatment of optic neuropathies, although this hasn’t been confirmed yet.

Stem Cell Therapy and Optic Neuropathies

Scientists are working on a comprehensive stem cell treatment for optic neuropathies. The stem cells are combined with some special therapies. The regenerative and repairing ability of the stem cells are utilized in developing the therapy.

References

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Grompe, M. (2014). Liver Stem Cells, Where Art Thou?. Cell Stem Cell, 15(3), pp.257-258.

Rajaram, R., Subramani, B., Abdullah, B. and Mahadeva, S. (2017). Mesenchymal stem cell therapy for advanced liver cirrhosis: A case report. JGH Open, 1(4), pp.153-155.

Zhang, Z. and Wang, F. (2013). Stem cell therapies for liver failure and cirrhosis. Journal of Hepatology, 59(1), pp.183-185.Stem Cell Therapy And Hepatic Carcinoma