Science in the 21st century: Miracle in sight

A cure for blindness is the breakthrough every scientist working in the field of opthalmology dreams about. Now, a team of gene therapy researchers at Moorfields Hospital may be on the brink.

By Jeremy Laurance
Published: 02 May 2007

British scientists have claimed a world first for a new form of gene therapy that could help the blind to see.
Specialists at University College London and Moorfields Eye Hospital are testing the revolutionary treatment on 12 patients, who are aged between eight and their mid-20s, and have an inherited eye disorder.

The technique has already been shown to work in animals affected by the same disorder, called inherited retinal degeneration, and their sight was restored after treatment. continue...