Researchers now have a model for testing gene therapy as a treatment for a leading cause of blindness-deafness. Save Sight Now has helped fund this significant step closer to finding a treatment for USH1B.
Those with Usher Syndrome — the leading hereditary cause for simultaneous deafness and blindness, for which there is no treatment — may have a new reason for hope, now that researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have confirmed the first-ever nonhuman primate model of their disease. The confirmation means the research team can finally test a gene therapy for the condition, and potentially help affected children retain their sight.