GoKawiilDoctors inject patient's own mitochondria into eyes to treat brain-bleed blindness
Researchers extracted mitochondria from a blind woman's leg muscles and injected them into the vitreous fluid of both eyes, after a February brain bleed had damaged her optic nerve and retina and eliminated her pupils' response to light. The procedure, described in an unreviewed preprint posted August 10, caused no inflammation or adverse effects and briefly restored some pupillary light response, though the effect faded within about four weeks and vision was not recovered.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
This marks the first reported attempt to transplant mitochondria into human eyes, following earlier trials in the heart and brain, and demonstrates the approach can be done safely in this tissue. However, experts caution the study only tests safety, not effectiveness, so it remains unproven whether mitochondrial transplants can meaningfully treat vision loss from optic nerve or retinal damage.
- A woman blinded by a brain bleed received her own leg-muscle mitochondria injected into her eyes.
- The treatment caused no inflammation and temporarily restored pupil responses to light, but not vision.
- Researchers say the trial only establishes safety, not proof that mitochondrial transplants actually work.
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Published there as: “Patient’s own mitochondria injected into eyes in attempt to restore vision”
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