The new year brought in good news for the visually challenged from around the world after researchers from the University of Oxford successfully restored eye sight in mice. By using a powerful, new treatment, the team of scientists were effectively able to reverse the blindness, indicating that similar treatment could help people with degenerative eye disease.
For the experiment, mice suffering from a complete lack of light-sensing photoreceptor cells in their retinas, were chosen. Owing to this condition, these rodents could not differentiate light from darkness. Once the light-sensing cells were added into the eyes, vision was restored. The researchers confirmed that the treatment would serve as an effective cure for night blindness and that it could potentially be used in future to restore similar degenerative diseases of the human eye.
According to the BBC, lead researcher Prof. Robert MacLaren said, “We have recreated the whole structure, basically it’s the first proof that you can take a completely blind mouse, put the cells in and reconstruct the entire light-sensitive layer.” He added that this method was like “restoring a whole computer screen rather than repairing individual pixels”.
This technology will take several years before it is safe to be used in humans, but it promises to be revolutionary.