2023-07-27 11:35:24
The young boy had lost the use of his eyes due to a genetic disease
Thanks to gene therapy, restoring sight to blind people is no longer science fiction. This medical feat was achieved in the United States on a 14-year-old teenager, who had lost the use of his eyes due to dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, a genetic disease that causes blisters all over. the body, including in the eyes.
The young boy first took part in a clinical trial of gene therapy in the form of a gel, which led to a considerable improvement in the condition of his skin. The doctor who followed him, Dr. Alfonso Sabater, then had the idea of testing the same treatment on the eyes of the teenager, asking Krystal Biotech, the laboratory manufacturing the gel for the skin, to adapt it in eye drops. Once developed, the treatment was first tested on mice with convincing results, before receiving FDA (Food & Drug Administration) approval two years ago.
The teenager, Antonio Vento Carjaval, had surgery last August and then had eye drops injected directly into his right eye. Her vision then steadily improved over the months, until it was almost perfect. At the beginning of 2023, the same treatment began to be administered to his left eye, which was even more affected, with a visual improvement there, too.
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