GAINESVILLE, Fla., May 22 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have used gene therapy to restore sight in mice with a form of hereditary blindness.
University of Florida scientists said they used a harmless virus to deliver corrective genes to mice with a genetic impairment that robs them of vision. The researchers said their discovery show it is possible to target and rescue cone cells -- the most important cells for visual sharpness and color vision in people.
"Cone vision defines whether someone is blind or not," said William Hauswirth, a professor of ophthalmic molecular genetics. "If you can usefully deliver a gene specifically to cone cells, there are implications for all blinding diseases, not just inherited ones. Even in two very common types of blindness -- age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy -- if you can target cones you might be able to rescue that vision."
The research appears in the current online edition of the journal Nature Medicine.
