Prevent blindness by just one shot

A new, breakthrough treatment with only 1 injection, can restore vision for people with genetic eye disease and save hundreds of thousands of others from the risk of blindness.

Early studies revealed that this single-shot treatment could improve the condition of patients at risk of vision loss. This is because, it appears to have prevented the progression of choroideremia , which originates from a defect in the CHM gene , which destroys light-sensing cells in the retina of the back. eye.

However, the researchers claim that new therapies also have the potential to help treat people with common forms of blindness, affecting retinal cells. These include age- related macular degeneration (AMD) - a disorder that is attacking 200,000 Britons a year and currently has no effective prevention, although it can be treated with laser surgery and use medicine.

The model simulates the mechanism of action of injectable gene therapy into the retina to restore vision to eye patients.(Photo: Daily Mail)

This pioneering therapy has resulted in successful test results, exceeding expectations in preventing the risk of blindness in 2 men.

According to The Lancet, the trial, which was partially funded by charity Fight for Sight, chose six patients with choroideremia at different stages. Each patient can only have one eye treatment, so that they can be compared with their other eye. As a result, it has significantly improved the eyesight of two men with severe visual damage, while restoring visual acuity to the other four subjects, which were in a milder condition.

Professor Robert MacLaren of the Oxford Eye Hospital (UK), a representative of the research team, said the only injection used to treat patients who had taken a harmless virus, contained a functional copy of the CHM gene. the light-sensitive cells of the retina. This approach cannot replace dead cells, but according to MacLaren, it can heal "sick" cells and protect healthy cells.

"If we can treat people early, we will transplant the virus before their eyesight disappears , " MacLaren explained.

However, choroideremia has only one defective gene that needs to be replaced, while AMD related to a number of genes need to be identified. The team is continuing to conduct tests for six new patients.