A study undertaken by Cytologist Scientists and Researchers at the Utrecht University in the Netherlands offers hope for those with dry eye disorders, as published in the “Cell Stem Cell” peer-reviewed scientific journal this month.

Current treatments that exist (including eye drops) are limited. This is largely because the lack of a good human tear gland creates a significant barrier. That is until now, with the exciting outcome of this latest study. The researchers grew tear glands from human adult stem cells. The cells were duplicated in a dish and induced to produce tears. This is a significant triumph to assist Scientists with developing future treatments for those with tear-gland disorders (that include dry eye diseases).

This capacity of regeneration is made possible through adult stem cells (defined as adult stem cells from the day we are born). These stem cells are present in most of our organs. In the right environment, and with the right activators (such as specialized proteins), they can remain energized and then divide to create new cells to replace older, damaged ones.