8 February 2012
Last updated at 14:35 ET
Tami Morehouse: ‘It’s just incredible to see’
Three US citizens who lost their sight in childhood have reported a dramatic improvement in vision after having gene therapy in both eyes.
There was some improvement after the genetic fault in one eye was corrected four years ago.
Now, one woman has described her joy at seeing her children’s faces, after her second eye was treated.
The research increases hopes that gene therapy can be used in a range of eye conditions, said a UK expert.
The three have Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), a rare inherited disease caused by defects in a gene encoding a protein needed for vision.
It appears at birth or in the first months of life, leading to severely impaired vision, involuntary eye movements and poor night vision.
The disorder, which can be caused by ‘mistakes’ in more than 10 different genes, prevents
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