Experimental gene therapy performed at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, the capital of England, has changed the lives of four young children with severe visual impairments since birth.

A gene therapy in the experimental stage was administered to four young children with advanced visual impairments, resulting in significant improvements. Among them was a Turkish child, who had a rare genetic disease rapidly progressing after birth.

Prior to treatment, the children could only distinguish between darkness and light, but after the therapy, they gained a vision ability that would “change their lives.” Doctors noted a visible improvement in all children, with some reported to have started drawing and writing.

Published in The Lancet medical journal, this study is expected to yield promising results for the future of gene therapy. Moreover, gene therapy has been applied for another type of genetic blindness in England since 2020. This new study is progressing based on the injection of healthy copies in place of a faulty gene.