Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Doubts about stem cell therapies (self.Blind)
submitted by Blind_Insider
Hi everyone. I have been totally blind for three years due to diabetic retinopathy. I live in Mexico and recently read about stem cell therapy which could supposedly help improve vision. Have any of you tried this type of therapy? I asked my Ophthalmologist and he told me that they were very expensive and with few favorable results, but I don't know. I would like more opinions on this.
thatawkwardcosplayer 1 points 1y ago
I do know a sister in law who went to Mexico for stem cell treatment (much cheaper, only around 5-6K per round) and it definitely did help her a lot. But she’s one person and her stem cell was for a paralyzed stomach.
Blind_Insider [OP] 1 points 1y ago
Hi, thank you very much for your advice. Well, there is not much hope for people with diabetic retinopathy, according to what I was reading, because the retina is not capable of regenerating itself and I would not want to lose money trying to do a treatment that did not work and feel sadder afterwards.
BaBaBroke 1 points 1y ago
I looked into this a few years ago but it was a study and it cost about twenty thousand dollars an eye. I did some research and that particular stern cell study had very bad results with bad reviews. Patient's would go in with some vision with your same condition and come out with no vision with forty thousand dollar loan to pay back. It was located in Florida. I would do alot of research before you spend money on this new therapy. After everything I found out I decided no way.
Original_Ad_1103 2 points 1y ago
Actually it depends on the type of the stem cells used and how they were cultivated. My bet is those clinics in Florida used adipose stem cells, which are taken from fat in your body. If they had used induced pluripotent stem cells, which are reprogrammed stem cells, then I bet the patients would have seen beneficial results. Also, I read the report and that clinic was run by a physician not specialized in stem cells, and they were injected bilaterally in both eyes at the same time, when you should only do one eye per treatment then wait a bit to see how it responds.
Blind_Insider [OP] 2 points 1y ago
Hi, thank you very much for your advice. In the clinic that I investigated, they are supposed to use stem cells that are extracted from your bone marrow. However, my Ophthalmologist told me that if your body contains its own stem cells and is not capable of reproducing them by itself, it will not do so externally when you extract them and re-inject. That generated more doubts in me because, according to what I read in the clinic itself, only a low percentage presents benefits, but in diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, and this is not my case.
Blind_Insider [OP] 1 points 1y ago
Hi, thank you very much for your advice. I read about the clinic here in Mexico and it cost around $10,000 but you have to travel to the city of Tijuana for about a month and pay for hotel meals and transportation but they do not offer any guarantee. That made me doubt a lot
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