November 2, 2009 
Gene therapy could be effectively used to treat children with inherited sight problems, new research has revealed…
In fresh trials carried out in America, doctors were able to significantly improve the vision of an eight-year-old patient.
Published on The Lancet’s website (October 24), the study suggests that early intervention of inherited sight conditions could be key.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine studied 12 patients aged between eight and 44 – five children and seven adults – with Leber’s congenital amaurosis (LCA). The genetic material needed to correct LCA was injected into one eye of each participant. It was reported that all patients responded well to the treatment, and although the patients’ vision did not improve enough to give them ‘normal’ eyesight, it improved enough for six patients not to be classed as legally blind.
Co-author of the study and director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics, Katherine High, said: “This result is an exciting one for the entire field of gene therapy.”
“This study reports dramatic results in restoring vision to patients who previously had no options for treatment.
“These findings may expedite development of gene therapy for more common retinal diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration.”
Taken from: http://www.otmagazine.co.uk