Eye drops brought light back to blind mice

Scientists at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia have restored light perception in blind animals using compounds delivered as ordinary eye drops, no gene therapy or implants required. The study, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, targets age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, which together affect roughly 200 million people. The molecules, called prosthe6, fill in for photoreceptors that disease has destroyed, reactivating the retina's surviving circuitry. In mouse models, treated animals spontaneously avoided bright areas again with no training, at light levels comparable to a cloudy day outdoors. Two compounds worked as drops rather than injections. "Our goal was to restore vision using a molecular mechanism that is as close as possible to how the healthy retina works," said Rosalba Sortino, a co-first author. The results are in animals, not people. The research has run for more than ten years, and a spin-off company is being formed to push it toward clinical testing.