Research has found that slowing down the aggregation of vitamin A in the eye may help prevent vision loss caused by macular degeneration. Rather than changing the way the eye processes the vitamin, the research team focused on changing the structure of vitamin A itself. The research has implications for treating age-related macular degeneration, a top cause of blindness, and Stargardt’s disease, the most common cause of juvenile macular degeneration.

The Columbia Stem Cell Initiative is a community of researchers and clinicians working with stem cells to tap the potential of the cells to improve human health. The culmination of this effort is a new online presence designed to raise the visibility of Columbia stem cell research among clinicians, scientists, patients and their families, and the general public.

A small clinical trial has shown that a new delivery method that pumps chemotherapy drugs directly to a brain tumor has potential to shrink the tumors and increase survival.

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An international research team led by Columbia successfully used mouse embryonic stem cells to replace diseased retinal cells and restore sight in a mouse model of retinitis pigmentosa. This strategy could potentially become a new treatment for retinitis pigmentosa, a leading cause of blindness that affects approximately one in 3,000 to 4,000 people, or 1.5 million people worldwide. The study appeared in the journal Transplantation (March 27, 2010, print issue).