Breakthrough of a Hungarian scientist to cure blindness

A group of international scientists, led by biomedical researcher Dr Botond Roska, has recently had a breakthrough in the field of curing blindness.

Hungarian history has never lacked incredible scientists who either contributed to the changing of a field or did it themselves. Just think about László Bíró and his ballpoint pen, Tivadar Puskás and his telephone exchange or 

Edward Teller, who changed the world forever.

Blindness is a medical condition thought to be irreversible up until now.

Dr Roska and his team have managed to partially reinstate the eyesight of a blind person with the help of gene therapy.

Although this is only the first step towards maybe one day giving back the possibility of complete sight, scientists are very hopeful as finally the process can be accelerated. Currently, they are working with three other therapies, as well.

Most of the illnesses that influence the capability of seeing are due to the improper functioning of the retina. It is only linked to the brain on very few occasions. Retinitis pigmentosa is to be blamed for about 10-20% of those diseases with this unfortunate outcome. Those suffering from this condition had no choice but to accept that they are gradually losing their eyesight. However, now there is hope that one day, even if not entirely, they will regain some of their seeing capabilities.

As 24.hu writes, Dr Botond Roska first mentioned the idea of gene therapy 20 years ago. Unfortunately, with the lack of the proper technological background, he could not carry out his plan. Thanks to the development of these technologies and the carefully drawn-up methodology,

this Monday brought the birth of a new scientific field: visual rehabilitation, the fruit of 13 years of work.

The ability to see starts with the retina, a delicate and sensitive layer found in the back of the eye. “It is practically a biological computer that creates about 30 presentations of the incoming video”, says Dr Roska. This video is the light touching our eyes that is then “recorded” by the retina. “Our brain does not see. It only tries to figure out reality based on these videos.”

Dr Roska explains all the mechanical elements of seeing as if they were a hamburger. The upper part of the bun is the light-sensitive layer; the meat and vegetables in the middle are the layers where all calculations happen, meaning that this is the part where the image is formed. Finally, the other half of the bun is the layer of the retinal ganglion cell. The study published by the team worked with this ganglion cell; however, this is not the only part of the eye on which gene therapy can be effective.