A new study demonstrates the safety and efficacy of optogenetic therapy for advanced retinitis pigmentosa, with 6 of 8 patients showing clinically meaningful improvements in visual tasks. The treatment, which combines gene therapy and light-stimulating goggles, enables blind individuals to detect objects and navigate their environment.
Researchers developed MitoCatch, a system that targets disease-affected cells with healthy mitochondria. The innovation enables efficient cell type-specific mitochondrial delivery, improving survival of damaged neurons in vitro and retinal ganglion cells in vivo.
Scientists have discovered genetic pathways and compounds that protect cone photoreceptors, crucial for central vision, from degeneration associated with age-related macular degeneration. The study used human retinal organoids and identified two kinase inhibitors as key protective mechanisms.
Researchers identified changes in RNA molecules involved in cell's splicing machinery, causing retinitis pigmentosa in ~30-40% of patients with genetic disorder. Variants in five non-coding RNA genes were found to be responsible for the disease, offering a new diagnostic pathway for families worldwide.
Researchers at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel discovered that differences in nerve signal speed and distance are actively balanced within the human eye to support a unified visual experience. This mechanism helps align signal arrival times to just a few milliseconds, contributing to synchronization.
A team of researchers at IOB has identified a new, active multi-layer circuit in the cortex during an early stage of development. The finding suggests that changes to embryonic circuits play a role in dysfunctions associated with neurodevelopmental disorders like autism.
Recent advances in preclinical research are being translated into innovative clinical solutions for blindness, including gene replacement and neuroprotective strategies. Gene editing strategies could potentially reverse vision loss, while early intervention during retinal degeneration is particularly promising.
Researchers developed high-resolution functional ultrasound imaging to study brain activity in awake and behaving mice. They found that out of 181 consistently identified brain regions, 87 were modulated during the optokinetic reflex, a stabilizing eye movement response.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School and the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology are developing a novel gene therapy to treat Usher syndrome type IF. They will use three different strategies to overcome the challenge of delivering the unusually large Usher 1F protein into target cells.
A team of scientists developed a computer model that can predict the outcome of eye diseases by simulating retinal circuitry and measuring its effects. The study shows that a single element of the retinal circuitry can lead to a variety of effects, and the model accurately reproduces changes observed in experiments.
The Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB) is a pioneering organization developing new therapies for eye diseases. With a strong interdisciplinary approach, IOB combines basic and clinical science to address global challenges like macular degeneration, glaucoma, and myopia.