Ex vivo cultivated limbal stem cell transplantation is a promising technique for the treatment of limbal stem cell deficiency. While the results of the clinical trials have been extensively reported since the introduction of the technique in 1997, little has been reported regarding the potential health risks associated with production processes and transplantation techniques. Culture procedures...

We use a population balance model to study the mechanism and the rate of centripetal migration of epithelial cells, renewal of the corneal epithelial population by the cell derived from (progeny of) the limbal stem cells and the kinetics of the replacement of the donor corneal epithelium. The epithelial mass is constant under the normal circumstances and therefore the rate of cellular entry due...

PURPOSES To describe corneal changes seen on in vivo confocal microscopy in patients with total limbal stem cell deficiency and to correlate them with cytological findings. METHODS A prospective case series including 13 eyes (8 patients) with total limbal deficiency was carried out. Stem cell deficiency was diagnosed clinically and by corneal impression cytology. Confocal images of the centra...

AIM To describe a surgical technique for autologous limbal stem cell transplantation and the outcome of a series of patients with unilateral stem cell deficiency. METHODS A report of six consecutive patients who underwent autologous limbal stem cell transplantation is presented. The primary diagnosis included alkali burn (n=3), conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) (n=1), recurrent pte...