VOA健康报道2023 患者健康眼睛干细胞可用于治疗眼损伤（在线收听）

患者健康眼睛干细胞可用于治疗眼损伤

In 2017, a workplace accident resulted in Phil Durst losing sight in his left eye.

2017年，一场工作事故导致菲尔·德斯特左眼失明。

He experienced severe pain from the incident which left him unable to tolerate light.

那次事故给他带来了剧痛，使他无法忍受光线。

He also experienced severe headaches four or five times a day.

他每天还会经历四五次剧烈的头痛。

Then he underwent an experimental operation that aims to treat severe injuries in one eye with stem cells from the other eye.

然后，他接受了一次实验性手术，目的是用另一只眼睛的干细胞治疗这只严重损伤的眼睛。

Durst said he went from being completely blind to seeing well enough to drive.

德斯特说，他从完全失明变成了视力良好，现在他可以开车了。

Regaining his sight was an emotional experience for the 51-year-old from Homewood, Alabama.

对于这位来自阿拉巴马州霍姆伍德的51岁的男子来说，恢复视力是一段激动人心的经历。

Durst was one of four patients to get stem cell transplants as part of the first study to test the method in the United States.

德斯特是接受干细胞移植的四名患者之一，这是美国测试该方法的第一项研究的一部分。

Although additional treatment is needed, experts say the stem cell transplant offers hope to people who are not getting results from other methods.

尽管还需要额外的治疗，但专家表示，干细胞移植为那些无法从其他途径获得结果的人带来了希望。

The experimental research results were published recently in Science Advances.

这些实验研究成果最近发表在《科学进展》杂志上。

A larger study is underway.

一项更大规模的研究正在进行中。

The operation is designed to treat "limbal stem cell deficiency."

该手术旨在治疗“角膜缘干细胞缺乏症”。

It is a disorder of part of the eye called the cornea.

这是一种角膜疾病。

The problem happens after chemical burns and other injuries.

这个问题发生在化学烧伤和其他伤害之后。

Limbal cells are needed to keep the outer surface of the cornea healthy.

角膜缘干细胞是保持角膜外表面健康所必需的。

Patients without limbal cells cannot have corneal transplants that are commonly used to improve sight.

没有角膜缘干细胞的患者无法进行通常用于改善视力的角膜移植手术。

Dr. Ula Jurkunas is an ophthalmologist at the treatment center Mass Eye and Ear in Boston, Massachusetts.

乌拉·尤尔库纳斯博士是马萨诸塞州波士顿大众眼耳医院的眼科医生。

She was the main researcher for the study.

她是这项研究的主要研究员。

She said the experimental method involves taking a few stem cells from the healthy eye, then expanding them and growing them on a graft.

她说，实验方法包括从健康的眼睛中提取一些干细胞，然后将它们扩展并在移植物上生长。

The research took place at a laboratory at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

这项研究是在波士顿达纳-法伯癌症研究所的一个实验室进行的。

A few weeks later, the grafts are transplanted into the injured eye.

几周后，移植物被移植到受伤的眼睛里。

Durst was the first patient to undergo the operation.

德斯特是第一个接受手术的患者。

"The great part of it is that we're using a patient's own tissue," not donor tissue the body might reject, Jurkunas said.

尤尔库纳斯说，“最重要的是，我们使用的是病人自己的组织，”而不是身体可能会排斥的捐赠组织。

She said this method is better than a different operation that takes a very large piece of stem cells from a healthy eye for use on an injured eye – but risks damaging the good eye.

她说，这种方法优于另一种手术，即从健康的眼睛中提取一大块干细胞用于受伤的眼睛，但有损害正常眼睛的风险。

Both of Durst's eyes were hurt in the accident.

德斯特的两只眼睛在事故中都受伤了。

For six to eight months, his sight was so bad that his wife or son had to lead him around.

在六到八个月的时间里，他的视力非常差，以至于他的妻子或儿子不得不带着他四处走动。

But his right eye was less injured than his left one and could provide stem cells for the transplant.

但他的右眼比左眼受伤更轻，可以为移植手术提供干细胞。

Jurkunas also works with Harvard Medical School.

尤尔库纳斯还与哈佛医学院合作。

She said Durst's 2018 operation was the product of almost 20 years of research.

她说，德斯特2018年的手术是近20年研究的产物。

She said the researchers were happy to finally do the operation.

她说，研究人员很高兴终于做了那台手术。

All patients in the study reported that their cornea surfaces improved to normal.

研究中的所有患者都报告说，他们的角膜表面恢复了正常。

Durst and another patient were then able to get transplants of man-made corneas.

德斯特和另一名患者随后接受了人造角膜移植手术。

Two others reported improved sight with the stem cell transplant alone.

另有两名患者报告称，仅通过干细胞移植就改善了视力。

A fifth patient did not receive the operation because the stem cells were not able to expand enough.

第五名患者没有接受手术，因为干细胞无法充分扩展。

Durst said the vision in his right eye is nearly normal but the vision in his left could improve.

德斯特说，他的右眼视力几乎正常，但他的左眼视力可能会有所改善。

He will have another operation in September to correct it.

他将会在9月份进行另一次手术来矫正它。

Researchers are finishing the next step of the clinical trial, which includes 15 patients.

研究人员将要完成临床试验的下一步，其中包括15名患者。

Jurkunas estimates that 1,000 people in the U.S. could be helped every year by this sort of stem cell transplant.

尤尔库纳斯估计，美国每年有1000人可以通过这种干细胞移植手术得到帮助。

The treatment has also been studied in Japan.

日本也对这种疗法进行了研究。