Oxford researchers claim to have carried out the world’s first gene therapy operation to halt age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of untreatable blindness in the developed world.
Dry AMD is a slow deterioration of the cells of the macula. It affects the central part of a patient’s vision with gaps or ‘smudges’, making everyday activities like reading and recognising faces difficult.
If successful, the treatment could have a beneficial impact of patients’ quality of life and their ability to remain independent.
“A genetic treatment administered early on to preserve the vision in patients who would otherwise lose their sight would be a tremendous breakthrough and certainly something I hope to see in the near future,” said Robert MacLaren, Professor at the University of Oxford in the UK.
The first person to undergo the procedure was Janet Osborne of Oxford, said MacLaren, who carried out the procedure at the John Radcliffe Hospital in the UK.
Like many people with AMD, Osborne has the condition in both eyes, but it is more advanced in her left eye. As is typical with this condition, the central vision in her left eye has deteriorated and is very hazy, although her peripheral vision is better.
