New Hope for the Blind: Experimental Treatment Restores Part of Vision

People with the hereditary disease retinitis pigmentosa gradually lose their vision. The disease usually first impairs night vision, then narrows the visual field, a process that can ultimately lead to blindness.

People with the hereditary disease "retinitis pigmentosa" gradually lose their vision. This disease usually first disrupts night vision and then limits the field of vision; A process that may eventually lead to blindness.

According to the selection report and quoted by Science Alert; Now, a new experimental treatment has been able to help some patients with this disease regain some of their vision. This method is a combination of gene therapy and special glasses that help the eye to react to light again by stimulating retinal cells.

In a small study of 10 people who had severe vision loss in both eyes, some participants were able to recognize objects better, locate them, and reach for them with the help of this technology.

In retinitis pigmentosa, genetic changes damage the photoreceptor cells in the retina. These cells are responsible for receiving light and converting it into nerve messages. Since more than 100 different genes can play a role in the occurrence of this disease, it is difficult to design a separate treatment for each genetic factor.

The new method, called "optogenetic therapy", tries to sensitize the remaining nerve cells in the retina to light, instead of directly repairing the damaged cells.

In this method, doctors injected a gene therapy into the weaker eye of each patient. This injection transmits the instructions for making a light-sensitive protein called "crimsonR" to the retinal nerve cells; Cells that send visual messages to the brain.

Then the patient wears special glasses that have a camera. These cameras record changes in ambient light and the processing device converts them into patterns of amber light. This light shines on the retina to activate the light-sensitive protein and help create visual messages.

How much did the patients recover?

The results showed that seven of the 10 participants became more sensitive to light after the treatment. The extent of this improvement varied from person to person, and in some cases, the ability to detect light increased several times.

Eight people participated in other tests that examined the ability to recognize and find objects. Four of them consistently performed better in recognizing a notebook when wearing the special glasses over multiple testing sessions. However, other participants did not have the same improvement and stability in all tests.

Examining brain activity in five participants also provided evidence that visual messages were likely reaching the brain; However, this part of the study was limited.

The researchers also found that more practice with glasses may help improve performance, but it's unclear exactly how much practice contributes to improved vision.

Overall, the researchers evaluated the initial safety results of the treatment as promising, but they emphasize that the study was conducted on only 10 people and more studies are needed to ensure its safety.

During the study, most ocular complications were mild or moderate. Seven people had intraocular inflammation, which was resolved with treatment and did not leave lasting complications.

In one case, immediately after the injection, a temporary blockage of the central retinal artery occurred, which was resolved within a few minutes after receiving the drug.

Can patients read again or recognize faces?

not yet Despite the promising results, this treatment currently only improves visual acuity to a limited extent and does not allow full vision to return.

The researchers say that recognizing faces and reading is still one of the main limitations of this technology. They are trying to increase the protein's sensitivity to light and improve the treatment method.

This research was done with the financial support of GenSight Biologics biotechnology company. The study did not have a control group and the participants were not randomly divided into different groups; Therefore, more extensive research is needed to determine the effectiveness and potential risks of the treatment.

This achievement is not yet a definitive cure for blindness, but it shows that it may be possible to restore some of the ability to see even after severe retinal damage by combining gene therapy and optical technologies.

The results of this research have been published in The New England Journal of Medicine.