Tuesday, May 25, 2021

A new type of Gene Therapy demonstrates the potential to treat Blindness

(c) Veronique Juvin, Sciartwork

Doctors have been able to use a form of gene therapy described as optogenetics for the first time to restore partial vision in a blind person. The research team genetically altered retinal ganglion cells to become light-sensitive in a man whose vision was destroyed by retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disorder that breaks down cells that absorb and convert light into brain signals.