Cell-based therapies for retinal degenerative diseases: a thousand strategies

Retinal neuronal death causes a severe and irreversible loss of visual function in the patients of retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma, but these degenerative diseases currently still lack effective medical treatments. The restorative properties of stem cells hold the promise in the treatment of these retinal degenerative diseases. The exciting progress has been made on stem cell research in the last decade. Many different stem cell types have been explored for their potential in treating the retinal degenerative diseases, including embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells and retinal stem cells. This review will summarize the recent progress in this exciting area.