JAPAN has given the green light to the world’s first clinical trial using stem cells harvested from a patient’s own body, officials said on Thursday, testing a treatment that may offer hope to millions of people robbed of their sight.A government committee approved proposals for tests aimed at treating age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a common medical condition that causes blindness in older people, using "induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells", a health ministry official said.The trial treatment will try to create retinal cells that can be transplanted into the eyes of patients suffering from AMD, replacing the damaged part of the eye.AMD, a condition that is incurable at present, affects mostly middle-aged and older people and can lead to blindness. It afflicts about 700,000 people in Japan alone.Stem-cell research is a pioneering field that has excited many in the scientific community because of the potential they believe it offers.A China-based research group on Wednesday ...
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