A genetic therapy has improved the vision of patients who would otherwise have gone blind. A clinical study has shown that the improvement is long-lasting and so the therapy is suitable to be offered as a treatment. The researchers will apply for approval to begin trials to treat more common forms of blindness, such as macular degeneration, next year. The results have been published in the
New England Journal of Medicine.
A team at Oxford University are treating a rare disorder called choroideremia. The disorder affects young men whose light-detecting cells in the backs of their eyes are dying because they have inherited a faulty gene. Until now there has been no treatment and they gradually become blind. The therapy involves injecting a working copy of the gene into the back of their eyes to stop more cells from dying. The researchers found that not only does the treatment halt the disease, it revives some of the dying cells and improves the patient's vision, in some cases markedly.
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Originally Posted by Jean M
