Dr. Grossman’s Blog

Researchers from the University of Washington and the University of Florida have used gene therapy to cure two monkeys of color blindness. 

An article published online in the journal Nature discusses the potential for this type of gene therapy to treat adult vision disorders involving cone cells, including color blindness and other retinal diseases.

Color blindness is an inherited disorder caused by a single defective or absent gene.  Jay Neitz, a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Washington (U.W.) School of Medicine and senior study author and his wife Maureen Neitz, also in the U.W. ophthalmology department, have identified this particular gene and developed a working virus vector to carry a functional copy of it.

Researchers injected the gene-carrying virus into the monkeys’ eyes. In about 20 weeks the monkeys attained full color vision and have shown no harmful side effects.

Color-blindness is a common genetic disorder, affecting more than 3.5 people in the United States, including about 8% of Caucasian men, leaving them unable to distinguish between red and green hues.

The research team hopes to be able to translate the findings into clinical trials for humans. The team used human genetic material in the monkeys in the interest of expediting future research.

SOURCE:  Colour blindness corrected by gene therapy, Nature doi:10.1038/news.2009.921

Scientists have determined that glaucoma patients who have damage to both hemifields (half of the visual field) of their eye will experience more rapid progression of the disease than patients who have damage to a single hemifield.

The study, published in the September 2009 journal Archives of Ophthalmology, reviews data from 205 patients.  79 were found with an initial superior defect, 61 with an initial inferior defect, and 65 with both hemifields affected.  

Analysis showed significantly higher baseline intraocular pressure and thinner central corneal thickness in patients with initial damage to both hemifields.

The study authors concluded that initial damage to both hemifields increases the risk of glaucoma progression, and that doctors should consider more aggressive therapy for these patients.

Learn more about glaucoma, including natural ways to help prevent and care for glaucoma at the Natural Eye Care website

SOURCE:  Glaucoma With Early Visual Field Loss Affecting Both Hemifields and the Risk of Disease Progression, De Moraes, et al,  Arch Ophthalmol. 2009;127(9):1129-1134.