Health

Blind Man Partially Regains Vision With New Technique And Genes From Light-Sensitive Algae

Sudonull

Scientists are trying to look for ways to heal common maladies and deformities. They’ve come so far in terms of technology. In fact, many have benefited from their research and are eternally grateful for what they’ve done.

Those who are visually impaired wish to regain their eyesight. It seems that hope may be on the horizon for those who want to see the world again. For some, learning to read braille or live without sight may no longer be part of their future.

Scientists were able to inject a Parisian man’s eye with genes from algae that encode for light-sensing proteins. With this new component, they were able to slowly and partially restore the patient’s vision. After the procedure, the said patient was able to locate, identify, and count objects once more, a skill he had never thought he’d need again.

The treatment is new and is on the verge of an innovative breakthrough in optogenetic therapy. This provides a chance of vision restoration for those with retinitis pigmentosa, the condition in which there is degradation of photoreceptive cells in the eyes.

The component used is found in glowing algae. The protein that they extract is called channelrhodopsin ChrimsonR. Its main function is found in the flow of ions in and out of the cell after being exposed to light. By using the said protein, new possibilities for retinal gene-therapy are on the way because this is able to bypass the broken photoreceptors typifying retinitis pigmentosa.

To help the patient regain vision, ChrimsonR genes were targeted for retinal ganglion cells. These cells are part of the vision equipment that is responsible for taking information from photoreceptors and relaying these to the optic nerves. Once they’re in the nerves, the brain then translates these messages and transforms them to what we call sight.

The ganglia were fundamentally given the job of the photoreceptors. But because of disease, these have stopped functioning for the patient. The scientists used a pair of purpose-built goggles which collected the image of the world and condensed the information into a single amber-light spectrum. In doing so, the channelrhodopsin ChrimsonR protein changed shape and sent the received signals to the brain.

Once the procedure was completed, the patient underwent several months of training.  He was then able to see objects, the white lines on the sidewalk, and more. All these were achieved with the goggles. The findings and results of the study were published in Nature journal. While this may not seem like a particularly newfangled treatment, retinitis pigmentosa has, in fact, no approved therapy. And in reality, this is the most common cause of blindness in young people.

With deeper and more elaborate developments in this field, optogenetic therapy could be on its way to the most innovative findings. If a gene somewhere in biology could be found that worked and functioned in the same way as ChrimsonR, there could be findings headed towards multiple color spectrums. Thus, there may be a way for a more natural version of sight to be restored.

Fact is, stem cell methods for restoring photoreceptors have been pioneered in studies that have included not only mice, but humans as well. Sai Chavala, Ph.D. at the Laboratory for Retinal Rehabilitation in the University of North Texas, recently demonstrated how fibroblasts, a type of skin cell, can reprogram themselves into photoreceptors. The study involved patients and mice with age-related macular degeneration (MD), a type of progressive blindness that’s so common that people often mistake it as part of the aging process. Right now, Chavala is going for FDA approval of this new treatment. This may roll back age-related MD in the next 1 to 2 years.