Soon, jab of light-sensing cells to restore vision

Researchers from the Oxford University said their studies closely resemble the treatments that would be needed in people with degenerative eye disease.

Patients with retinitis pigmentosa gradually lose light-sensing cells from the retina and can become blind.

The research team used mice with a complete lack of light-sensing photoreceptor cells in their retinas. The mice were unable to tell the difference between light and dark, the BBC News reported.

They injected "precursor" cells which will develop into the building blocks of a retina once inside the eye. Two weeks after the injections a retina had formed.

"We have recreated the whole structure, basically it's the first proof that you can take a completely blind mouse, put the cells in and reconstruct the entire light-sensitive layer," Professor Robert MacLaren said.

Previous studies have achieved similar results with mice that had a partially degenerated retina. MacLaren said this was like "restoring a whole computer screen rather than repairing individual pixels".

The mice were tested to see if they fled being in a bright area, if their pupils constricted in response to light and had their brain scanned to see if visual information was being processed by the mind.

Professor Pete Coffee, from the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London, said the findings were important as they looked at the "most clinically relevant and severe case" of blindness.

"This is probably what you would need to do to restore sight in a patient that has lost their vision," he said.

However, he said this and similar studies needed to show how good the recovered vision was as brain scans and tests of light sensitivity were not enough.

Professor Robin Ali published research in the journal Nature showing that transplanting cells could restore vision in night-blind mice and then showed the same technique worked in a range of mice with degenerated retinas.

"These papers demonstrate that it is possible to transplant photoreceptor cells into a range of mice even with a severe level of degeneration," he said.

"I think it's great that another group is showing the utility of photoreceptor transplantation," he added.

Researchers are already trialling human embryonic stem cells, at Moorfields Eye Hospital, in patients with Stargardt's disease. Early results suggest the technique is safe but reliable results will take several years.

Retinal chips or bionic eyes are also being trailed in patients with retinitis pigmentosa.

The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.