Work

Corneal Tissue Engineering: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: To address the growing need for corneal transplants two main approaches are being pursued: allogenic and synthetic materials. Allogenic tissue from human donors is currently the preferred choice; however, there is a worldwide shortage in donated corneal tissue. In addition, tissue rejection often limits the long-term success of this approach. Alternatively, synthetic homologs to donor corneal grafts are primarily considered temporary replacements until suitable donor tissue becomes available, as they result in a high incidence of graft failure. Tissue engineered cornea analogs would provide effective cornea tissue substitutes and alternatives to address the need to reduce animal testing of commercial products. Recent progress toward these needs is reviewed here, along with future perspectives.

Source: Tissue Engineering Part B Reviews

DOI: 10.1089/ten.teb.2014.0397

Authors: Chiara E. Ghezzi, Jelena Rnjak-Kovacina, David L. Kaplan

Institutions: Tufts University, UNSW Sydney

Language: English

Topic: Corneal Surgery and Treatments

Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Eye Institute, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering