- For the first time, scientists are altering DNA in a living human.
- With more research this study could help lead to the development of procedures that can help to correct other genetic disorders.
- The study uses CRISPR technology, which can alter DNA.
Researchers from the OHSU Casey Eye Institute in Portland, Oregon, have broken new ground in science, medicine, and surgery — the first gene editing procedure in a living person.
For the first time, scientists are altering DNA in a living human. With more research the study could lead to the development of procedures that can help to correct other genetic disorders.
Known as the BRILLIANCE clinical trial, the procedure is designed to repair mutations in a particular gene that causes Leber congenital amaurosis type 10, also known as retinal dystrophy. It is a genetic condition that results in vision deterioration and has previously been untreatable.
“The Casey Eye Institute performed the first gene editing surgical procedure in a human being in an attempt to prevent blindness from a known genetic mutation,” said Dr. Mark Fromer, ophthalmologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. “The abnormal DNA is removed from a cell with the generating mutation. This will potentially offer sight to people with a form of previously untreatable blindness.”
Source: healthline