A city-based medical science startup is gearing up to halt the progress of degenerative eye disease in Indians after trials in blind rats showed the creatures regaining their sight in a few months.

Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is a form of blindness that affects a segment of the adult population after they reach the age of 50. It accounts for 8.7% of all blindness worldwide. Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), meanwhile, is a rare genetic  disorder, which affects one child in 4,000. There is no known cure for the diseases. However, Dr Jogin Desai, whose startup, Eyestem, which has been under incubation by the government’s Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-Camp) for  the past three years, believes its work can halt the progression of the diseases by using genetically modified stem cells to restore the pigment epithelium in the cornea.

Source:  https://www.deccanherald.com/city/life-in-bengaluru/start-up-to-research-on-degenerative-eye-disease-783855.html