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About Unlock Genetics

The aim of the site is to increase the level of awareness and understanding of genetic testing and genetic counselling among people living with inherited retinal dystrophies, empowering them to make fully informed decisions about their lives, healthcare and family planning.

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Inheritance patterns

Your doctor or genetic counsellor will spend some time asking about other people in your family to try to work out the way in which your particular faulty gene has been passed down through the generations – this is referred to as the inheritance pattern.

About inherited sight loss

Many inherited sight loss conditions occur when cells in the retina, which is the light-sensitive region at the back of the eye, deteriorate in an unpredictable way. These conditions are often referred to as inherited retinal dystrophies.

x-linked inheritance

X-linked inheritance means that the faulty gene is located on the X chromosome, the larger of the two sex chromosomes.

A high power image showing the position of a single transplanted photoreceptor cell (green) making new connections with bipolar cells in the recipient retina (cyan).

Stem cells

Stem cells are a special type of cell, which under the right conditions can be encouraged to grow into any other type of cell in the body, including retinal cells (rods, cones and retinal pigment epithelial cells).

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Genetics and gene therapy

When we talk about gene therapy we are usually referring to use of a harmless virus, called a vector, to deliver a normal copy of a defective gene into the cells of the eye.