Revolutionary Eye Procedure Helps Improve Vision in Youth

Doctors at Moorfields Eye Hospital were able to perform a pioneering procedure to improve the eyesight of an 18-year old. The patient, Steven Howarth, was suffering from failing vision prior to the procedure. The new procedure involved gene therapy, which the doctors used to regenerate the dying cells in Howarth’s right eye.

The results of the procedure are astonishing. Howarth, who was barely able to see at night and who would have finally lost vision completely in his right eye, is now able to walk confidently in rooms and streets with insufficient light for the first time in his life. He is the third patient to undergo the operation.

While the therapy has already been carried out on two other patients, what makes the procedure performed on Howarth pioneering is the fact that it actually led to improvements. In the other two cases, while there was no further reduction in eyesight, there were no improvements either. The first person on whom doctors performed the operation was Robert Johnson.

The condition that Howarth was suffering from was called Leber’s congenital amaurosis. This condition is usually caused by a defective gene and affects the light detecting cells located at the back of the eye. The condition damages these cells and allows them to undergo further degeneration with time.

During the operation, the doctors working on Howarth injected replicated copies of the gene into the back of his eye. While doctors were able to detect some improvement over a few months, Howarth himself did not see any changes until he successfully completed a vision test by walking through a dimly-lit maze all on his own.

Even the doctors were amazed at the degree of improvement, because till then Howarth could walk just a few feet in over a minute and constantly ended up walking into the walls of the maze.

Following the successful test, Howarth gained the confidence to test his vision in the real world, by walking at night on the streets near his Bolton home. He was surprised to find that where earlier he was able to see only the lights of cars rushing by, well-lit buildings, and also street lights, he could now see other details, such as the pavement itself and also the markings present on the street.

Of late, Howarth has even begun walking back home from the railway station at night. One thing that the operation has definitely affected, in a positive way, is his confidence. He is now able to do many of the things he found difficult earlier on – he is able to see the frets of his guitar better now, for instance.

Said Dr. Robin Ali from the Institute of Ophthalmology, “To get this indication after only three patients is hugely exciting. I find it difficult to remember being as excited as I am today about our science and what it might achieve.” Dr. Ali was the leader of the procedure.

The consultant surgeon who actually performed the procedure, Dr. James Bainbridge, said, “It's hugely rewarding and exciting to see that this new treatment can have this impact on a person's quality of life.”

Dr. Ali says the success of the procedure is encouraging, and that the next step would be to try and use it on children. “"The next stage is to increase the dose of the gene which we anticipate will improve the outcome - and it’s also to treat younger patients, who have better residual vision and in whom we expect to see a much greater benefit,” he said.

The accolades are now pouring in for the team. Dawn Primarolo, the health minister, said, “This is absolutely brilliant. It’s been done here in the UK with the expertise of the NHS and the science and research of the Department of Health all coming together to offer such hope not only for gene therapy for the correction of sight - but also for gene therapy generally.”

The Department of Health funded the research, whose findings have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.