The new therapy involves injecting inactivated viruses into the vitreous to carry a gene directly into ganglion cells. Earlier versions of viral therapy required injecting the viruses underneath the retina (bottom). The gene makes normally ‘blind’ ganglion cells light sensitive, returning sight to eyes that have lost the normal light sensors, the rods and cones. The right image shows the cell layers in a normal retina. (Image by John Flannery)
Opsins make ‘blind’ cells light-sensitive; potential human treatment within three years. People left blind by retinal degeneration have one option: electronic eye implants. Neuroscientists have now developed an alternative: gene therapy that, in tests, restored vision in blind mice...
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