Stem Cell Watch III

Well, as we continue to wait for the first treatment using embryonic stem cells (although John Edwards would probably tell us they can raise the dead if he thought it would get us to vote Democratic) another discovery using adult stem cells has come to light.
Doctors in India have begun performing stem cell transplants to restore vision in the human eye. They take stem cells from the patient's good eye, or from a donor, and inject them into the sightless eye. The beauty of this procedure is that in many cases the patient can supply his own stem cells, which removes all of the concerns inherent with donors, questions over supply, etc. The restored vision is imperfect, of course, but the patients have experienced marked improvement.
I saw Michael J. Fox recently in a public even not shaking as noticably as he was in the campaign commercials. When you see this, don't be fooled. Embryonic stem cells have not cured his Parkinson's - he's just gone back onto his normal dosage regimen. For the record, he has admitted to altering his dosage patterns so as to enhance his symptoms during his Congressional testimony.