DHAKA: Surgeons in Oxford have used a gene therapy technique to improve the vision of six patients who would otherwise have gone blind.

The operation involved inserting a gene into the eye cells, a treatment that revived light-detecting cells.

The doctors involved believe that the treatment could in time be used to treat common forms of blindness.

Prof Robert MacLaren, the surgeon who led the research, said he was "absolutely delighted" at the outcome.

Wyatt has a genetic condition known as choroideremia, which results in the light-detecting cells at the back of the eye gradually dying.

Improved vision

Wyatt was still just about able to see when he had the operation. His hope was that the procedure would stop further deterioration and save what little sight he had left.

He, like another patient in Professor MacLaren`s trial, found that not only did the operation stabilise his vision - it improved it. The other subjects, who were at earlier stages in their vision, experienced improvements in their ability to see at night.

Wyatt`s wife, Diane, confirmed that the prospect of total blindness had made him feel very depressed.

"Now he is very optimistic," she explained.

"He is more independent, he can find things he couldn`t before, he can go to the shops on his own and he`s less of a nuisance!"

Another of the patients who underwent the treatment, Wayne Thompson, said he had noticed an immediate effect after the operation.

Source: BBC
BDST: 1130 HRS, JAN 16, 2014
MR/RS