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Gene therapy breakthrough could give sight to hundreds of thousands

  2. mattbrawn
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A 17-year-old who was visually impaired has had his vision improved in a pioneering operation carried out by doctors at Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL.

The London doctors inserted genes into the patient's eyes to correct a genetic fault that stops their retinas detecting light properly.

The procedure was part of a medical trial that started in February of this year which included two other patients who suffer from the condition known as Leber's congenital amaurosis (LCA). The condition is an inherited disorder that causes progressive deterioration in vision and can lead to blindness in teenagers.

The surgery has been hailed as a breakthrough in treating LCA, with Stephen explaining the vast improvements he has benefitted from.

"At first I could not see anything really in the eye that was operated on, but it got much better after a week, then gradually even better until it was back to normal."
mattbrawn

12 responses // Gene therapy breakthrough could give sight to hundreds of thousands

  • An amazing breakthrough that is a huge step in garnering needed funding for such a problem. People need to get away from the 'playing god' issue. You cannot pick and choose from the bible/qu'ran/talmud/etc. They all say some variation of "Thou shall not kill". Okay, so wars which kill millions are justified, yet genetic engineering (& I'd like to mention stem cell research here, though I am not saying the two are the same subject before somebody corners me on it!) is considered messing with god's creation. Oh dear, please grow up. I think if there is a god he would be so happy we were putting resources into saving people instead of killing them.
    wannabedoc
  • watch this comment being used here, here, here, here and here
    This is really impressive and says a lot about just how far health and medicine and science have come. Yeah, people might play the 'man is playing God' card, but if you were in the situation, I'm sure you'd want the procedure, too.
    Peewong
  • Not to mention that gene therapy is part of the new seven deadly sins. So this program will have to fight through the religious right before it's widely accepted, or so I think.
    devo64
  • wannabedoc, why must you start out a conversation so angrily? Are you suggesting that all religion is proven wrong because gene therapy is good? Also, who said wars are justified? No religious leaders I know of.

    This stuff is good. It helps people who have a disease. Not many religion have a problem with medicine, just the real extreme ones, like the ommish or mormons.

    wtf do blind people have to do with killing babies?

    Peewong: Damn straight I would!!
    CalPerr
  • I'm sure God would be more than happy to see us help one another, than kill one another.
    ipodrulz
  • This is such a fascinating topic, but the main thing to me is, what a brave young man to go through a proceedure that has been untried before. Well done, and I wish you all the best for the future.
    Joolz
  • It really is amazing what this research can do.

    So why is America not funding this again?

    I seem to forget.
    MaRibElfalcon76
  • wow, that's awesome!
    Joydejavu17
  • How wonderful! It's so great to see some good news for a change!
    patsarts
  • funny, same comment, different story. thats the miracle of science for you
    diode
  • cal perr
    I think I find it justifiable to be angry that people are trying to hold back medical advancement based on religion. I am not saying that all religion is proven wrong by gene therapy. Please don't put words in my mouth, thanks! I'm saying that people should not use religion as a reason why we can't medically advance. Who said wars are justified? Oh come on. Do I really need to list them all. Please note that religious leaders aren't the only ones to believe in religion. That would be pointless. So please, please, please, learn to read comments properly and not alter what people say for the benefit of you arguing against them. Because really, you're just arguing against yourself.
    You want the shortlist? George Bush, Tony Blair, Churchill, Adolf friggin Hitler! So please, don't argue against things that aren't really there to argue about.
    wannabedoc
  • WHAT? WHO?
    THAT DOESNT EVEN MAKE ANY SENSE!
    HITLER HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANY OF THIS!
    CalPerr

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