Trial Lecture – time and place
See Trial Lecture.
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Professor Jesper Hjortdal, Department of Ophthalmology, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark
- Second opponent: Docent Per Montan, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Professor Emeritus Borghild Barth-Heyerdahl Roald, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Professor Emeritus Odd Geiran, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Professor II Liv Drolsum, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo
Summary
Limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) is a visually-debilitating and painful ocular surface disease, often caused by thermal or chemical injury. A current treatment option is transplantation of cultured limbal epithelial cells (LECs). However, clinical success rates vary and an international consensus on an optimal culture protocol is lacking. Many protocols include animal products, with an inherent risk of disease transmission. Hence, we established an alternative protocol void of such products and compared the cells to LECs cultivated with animal-derived supplements. We reported clinical outcome in patients transplanted with LECs cultivated using our protocol. Finally, we further investigated LECs in different culture conditions.
In summary, LECs cultivated using our protocol were similar, and not inferior, to cells cultivated with animal-derived supplements. Also, LECs cultivated with our protocol may be transplanted successfully and safely to patients. In-depth analyses revealed that LECs cultivated in different conditions exhibit similar morphology and cell characteristics. These results augment our understanding of LEC cultivation and may improve management of LSCD.
Additional information
Contact the research support staff.