Serious diseases affecting the transparent part of the eye, called the cornea, are very difficult to treat because this structure lacks blood vessels and has little capacity for regeneration and repair. Many patients with serious corneal pathologies can only be treated by transplantation, which involves removing the damaged cornea and replacing it with a healthy cornea from another person who has donated their organs.

Now, researchers from the Tissue Engineering Group of the Department of Histology at the University of Granada’s Faculty of Medicine and the ibs.GRANADA Institute for Biomedical Research have created highly biocompatible, resistant, and transparent corneal implants from scales of various types of fish commonly found on the market, such as carp.

“Although common transplants usually offer good results, it is necessary to develop new effective methods of regeneration that do not depend on organ donation, which is subject to waiting lists,” explains Miguel Alaminos, professor of Histology at the UGR.

Exhaustive analysis of fish scales has demonstrated their potential usefulness for corneal repair and regeneration, with good functional results both in the laboratory and in experimental animals implanted with this material.

«These results not only provide a new product that is potentially useful for the treatment of corneal diseases, but also highlight the value of a natural resource derived from fishing, an activity of great economic importance in the province of Granada. Due to its origin, this product is very accessible, easy to obtain, and low in cost, and could contribute to boosting the fishing sector in an area that is being affected by numerous restrictions and constraints,» explains Ingrid Garzón, Professor of Histology at the UGR.

The research, which was announced this morning in the presence of Miguel Alaminos, Ingrid Garzón, and the manager of the San Cecilio Clinical Hospital, Manuel Reyes, was developed in the Tissue Engineering Laboratories of the Department of Histology at the University of Granada, with funding from the Carlos III Health Institute of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities. Manuel Reyes, was developed in the Tissue Engineering laboratories of the Department of Histology at the University of Granada, funded by the Carlos III Health Institute of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities (project PI23/00335).