Residents of Izhevsk told about a new way to restore sight to the blind

Residents of Izhevsk were told about a new way to restore sight to people with severe hereditary blindness. The method combines a genetic drug with special glasses that turn the image into pulses of amber light.

The approach does not repair damaged photoreceptors, but makes other surviving retinal cells light sensitive. The trial involved several patients who received the desired result.

Patients were injected into the blind eye with instructions for a protein that responds to amber light. The glasses with the camera transmitted signals to the brain, and the participants were better at finding the doorway, although they could not read and recognize faces.