Corneal regeneration: How can we make further progress in corneal surgery with advanced therapies to avoid corneal substitution: ESCRS Binkhorst Medal Lecture 2023.

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Corneal blindness affects millions globally and is one of the top 5 most common causes of blindness worldwide. Modern corneal transplantation techniques have made important progress in short-term and long-term outcomes, together with improvements in corneal banking, but there remains a high frequency of anatomical and functional failures. Corneal regeneration techniques offer significant advantages because they do not depend on donor tissue, may offer a better biological approach, and are free from complications related to allograft transplantation in humans. Our aim is to provide a perspective on the progress and improvements that have been made during recent years in corneal regeneration involving the ocular surface, corneal stroma, and corneal endothelium. Notably, the use of mesenchymal-derived stem cells from different origins, particularly from adipose tissue, has opened a new perspective in the treatment of corneal and ocular surface disorders.

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.