A 58-year-old blind man partially regained his vision after injecting algae proteins into his eye as part of a scientific study. 40 years ago, the Frenchman was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disorder that causes vision loss, and can now distinguish between nearby objects and navigate the street using stimulating glasses.
The study was published this Monday in a scientific journal. Nature Medicine and reports the progress of vision in a person receiving optogenic therapy in which proteins from algae are used to control cells within the eye. For the first time, this technique, in which teams from the USA, Switzerland and France participated, proved to be successful.
These microorganisms, scientifically named Canalrodopsin or channel rhodopsins are sensitive to light. They change their behavior when stimulated by light to move towards it, and for this reason they have shown favorable results when injected into the patient’s eye, which initially had limited visual acuity for the perception of light.
In statements to BBCProfessor Botond Rosca, one of the researchers in charge of the research at the University of Basel, said that “the data obtained prove that the use of optogenetic therapy for partial restoration of vision is possible.”
Before and after the injection, the patient underwent eye examinations, general examinations, and electrocardiograms to stimulate the regeneration of destroyed cells to evaluate the retinal anatomy several times and see if there was intraocular inflammation or any adverse factors.
This was followed by tests to understand the response of proteins to light stimulation using stimulating glasses. Initially, the patient did not notice any changes in vision, however, seven months after starting vision training, the patient began to report signs of improvement in vision when using glasses that were retained.
The tests focused on three parameters: both eyes open without light-stimulating glasses (natural binoculars); one eye is closed and the other is open without glasses (natural monocular) and one eye is closed and the other is opened with the stimulus of the glasses (stimulated monocular).
In the first test, a man had to perceive, locate, and touch an object placed on the surface of a white table at a distance of about 60 centimeters. The patient showed positive results only in the stimulated monocular mode, with a success rate of 92% of attempts. This figure depended on the size of the object and was higher when it was large.
In the second test, which included perceiving, counting and locating more than one object in a stimulated monocular, the patient had a 63% success rate for perception and counting. On the spot, the rate was 58%.
When he went out for a walk, the patient said that he saw pedestrian crossings and the road, including counting white stripes. In daily life, he also reported discriminating between common objects such as plates, mugs, doors and corridors, but only when he used light-stimulating glasses.
The study concluded that the percentage of correct assessments was significantly higher under stimulated monocular conditions (41%) than in vivo binoculars and monoculars (5.8%). Thus, this is the first scientific evidence that algae protein injection, combined with optogenic therapy and the use of light-stimulating glasses, produces a visual perception that allows the patient to be guided, to perform a visual task, and to reach the target.
Optogenetic therapy is a technique that combines light, genetics, and bioengineering to study and activate neural circuits. Over the past decades, he has presented significant advances in identifying the causes of diseases and indicating treatment options. However, its use in humans is still limited, but promising, as it allows you to select certain cells without touching others around them, that is, without causing side effects compared to the methods of electrical stimulation that are currently used.
