How Optogenetics Tries to Restore Partial Vision
An experimental technique has been shown to restore partial vision in people blinded by a hereditary eye disease known as retinitis pigmentosa. In normal vision, light hits the retina at the back of the eye. Photoreceptor cells there convert the light into electrical signals that travel through the retina to the ganglion cells. The ganglion cells then send the signals via the optic nerve to the brain. The brain turns those signals into images. Retinitis pigmentosa causes the photoreceptor cells to break down, resulting in vision loss. Recent experiments with optogenetic therapies are starting to show some restoration of vision. The therapies deliver a gene to the ganglion cells that makes them sensitive to light. Patients then wear special goggles, which process the light and amplify it to help the ganglion cells send electrical signals to the brain. Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/gene-therapy-high-tech-goggles-restore-some-vision-to-blind-people-11621868401
