Gene therapy restores light sensitivity in some blind people

A gene therapy helped some blind participants detect light and recognise object outlines, offering early evidence of a possible treatment for retinitis pigmentosa, SRF reported.

The treatment delivers a light-sensitive protein into retinal cells. Participants then wear special glasses that convert their surroundings into light signals, which the treated cells can detect. The brain must learn to interpret those signals, and participants who trained more with the glasses achieved better results.

In a study of 10 people, seven experienced increased light sensitivity. Four of the eight assessed for object recognition could see the outlines of smaller objects, such as a matchbox. Recognising objects such as a door could make everyday tasks easier, the study said. It also found no harmful effects from the gene therapy.

The study was led by Botond Roska of the Basel Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology and José-Alain Sahel of the University of Pittsburgh. Co-author Stefan Futterknecht, a researcher at the Basel institute, called the findings a milestone and said they could help lay the groundwork for more precise and effective treatments.

A first study of the therapy was conducted in Paris five years ago with one participant, who experienced initial visual impressions. That participant was included in the latest study. Researchers are now working to improve different parts of the treatment, including the proteins used to make retinal cells sensitive to light.

Futterknecht said the treatment remains far from enabling patients to read or experience vision in the way sighted people do.