Blind people can recognize objects again after receiving optogenetic treatment

The doctor uses gene therapy to add a photosensitive molecule to one of the person’s eyes. The gene they added is called chrimson and comes from a single-celled algae species that can sense sunlight and move to it.

Roska said the idea of ​​adding genes is to engineer retinal cells called ganglia so that they can respond to light and send visual signals to the brain.

The strategy is funded by a French company called GenSight Biologics, requiring patients to wear a set of electronic goggles to capture the light contrast in the environment, and then use a specific wavelength of orange light to project the image onto the retina at high intensity. Trigger the chrimson molecule.

University of Pittsburgh researcher José-Alain Sahel (José-Alain Sahel) is the main participant in the experiment and one of the co-founders of GenSight. According to him, the blind person did not notice any effects at first, but he gradually began to report seeing shapes when wearing goggles. Sahel described the patient as “the first patient ever to benefit from optogenetics.”

After training, the man can perceive whether the notebook has been placed on the table in front of him. He can also count the dark cups placed in front of him, although it is not always accurate.

Optogenetics is widely used in animal neuroscience experiments, Where photosensitive molecules are added to brain cells. Then, the researchers use light pulses transmitted through optical cables to cause specific nerves to ignite and, in some cases, to cause specific behaviors to occur.

In 2016, when a Texas woman became blind, she started working to adapt the technology to blindness The first person to receive optogenetic treatment A small company, RetroSense, was later acquired by Allergan.The results of this study have never been publicly reported, although Allergan officials subsequently stated that some patients Claim to see the light, Such as perceiving bright windows in a dark room.

Vedere Bio, a start-up company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has also been developing optogenetic treatments.

According to Roska and Sahel, several patients have now been treated in clinical trials sponsored by GenSight, but only the person who described the situation today has used goggles.

The level of vision restored to the patient is still very limited. What he saw on Google was monochrome, and the resolution was not high enough to read, or even to distinguish one object from another.

Researchers say that the goggles may be improved, and after more training, the man may have more vision than he does now. Sahel said: “The level of vision that we cannot achieve is unpredictable.”