Close up of a human eye. Photo Credit: Khushwant Gehlot/EyeEm via Getty Images

Health France17. June 2021

Groundbreaking Tech Lets Blind People See Again!

Researchers from Sorbonne University in Paris, France, have found a way to give blind people their sight back using optogenetics, a brand new technology that gives hope to millions of patients suffering from impaired vision.

“It’s a major milestone,” says study leader and ophthalmologist José-Alain Sahel. “It was certainly the emergence of a lot of work over the last 13 years coming to light, but being able to be the first to demonstrate that optogenetic technology can work in humans is very exciting for us.”

The clinical trial consisted of injecting in one of the patient’s eyes an adenovirus-associated vector that carries the genetic instructions to generate a light-sensing protein called ChrimsonR. The vector targets retinal ganglion cells which allow them to sense light. Through optogenetics, one protein equals one channel. To amplify the signal – in a normal mammalian retina, one protein can open up to one million ion channels – researchers use goggles that shoot amber light to the ChrimsonR protein that become stand-ins for the photoreceptors, allowing blind people to partially see (minus colors or details) in an effective yet safe way.

Source:
Stat News

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