Despite the knock-on effects of the pandemic, there’s been a lot going on this year in the world of research! Here are snapshots of a few stories that have appeared in the Research News section of our website in 2022.
News
The latest news from Retina UK. Please use the filters to find the articles which interest you.
Brain stimulation may reduce hallucinations
UK researchers have discovered that passing a weak electrical current between electrodes on a person’s scalp may lead to a reduction in frequency of the visual hallucinations experienced by some people living with sight loss.
A research project funded by Retina UK helped pave the way to a new gene therapy that has recently produced encouraging results in two young people with achromatopsia, a condition that causes complete colour-blindness and poor overall vision from birth.
Early 2020 marked an important milestone for the Retina UK community, when the first person with an inherited retinal condition received NHS treatment to potentially slow or even stop the progression of their sight loss.
ProQR announces suspension of LCA10 and USH2A clinical trials
Biotechnology company ProQR has announced that its clinical trials of sepofarsen for Leber congenital amaurosis type 10 and ultevursen for USH2A-mediated retinitis pigmentosa will be wound down with immediate effect.
A discovery made as part of research funded by Retina UK has led to a prestigious award of $2.5 million, enabling scientists to undertake more in-depth investigations and work towards a treatment for a particular type of retinitis pigmentosa.
Your generous support allows Retina UK to fund the work of leading scientists who are increasing understanding of inherited sight loss and moving us closer to treatments.
Biotechnology company Kiora Pharmaceuticals has been given the go-ahead to start in-human testing of a novel “small molecule” treatment, known as KIO-301, for advanced vision loss in retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The phase 1b clinical trial will take place in Adelaide, Australia, and will begin enrolling participants towards the end of 2022.
Biotechnology company MeiraGTx has announced encouraging news from its phase 1/2 clinical trial of botaretigene sparoparvovec (previously known as AAV-RPGR), a gene therapy aimed at X-linked retinitis pigmentosa caused by faults in the RPGR gene.