A new treatment helped seven of 10 people sense more light. They have a serious eye disease passed from parents to children. This disease destroys cells in the eye that sense light. It can make people lose their sight for good.
Each person received one shot in the eye with poorer sight. The shot carries instructions for making a protein. This protein helps some remaining nerve cells respond to light. These cells send information about what people see to the brain.
The treatment also uses special glasses with a camera. The glasses turn images into light signals and send them into the eye. Six people became at least four times as sensitive to light. The researchers counted this as an important change, but the treatment did not bring back normal sight.
This early test mainly checked how safe the treatment was. Nine people had eye problems during the study. Most problems were mild or medium in seriousness, but one was serious. The results appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine, and the researchers say larger studies must check safety and how well the treatment works.
