The application of regenerative medicine in ophthalmology

The causes of blindness vary widely around the world including the degeneration of particular groups of retinal cells, such as retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), photoreceptors, and retinal ganglion cells. These cells could be generated ex vivo from progenitor stem cells thanks to advancements in retinal regenerative medicine over the past ten years. Here, we discuss the development of cell replacement using novel technologies, to restore eyesight in degenerative diseases. We go over the state of advanced preclinical research for other cell kinds as well as human clinical trials for RPE transplantation. We also discuss the developments in using endogenous progenitor cells to fix retinal degeneration in situ. Last but not least, we give a high-level summary of the development of prosthetic ocular vision restoration using advanced photovoltaic devices, opsin-based gene therapy, and small-molecule photoswitches.