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Having seen success in it's first stage of clinical testing in Germany, a new trial of retinal implanting has been approved and scheduled to begin in 2012 in both London and Oxford, with three further sites due to start across other European cities. The trial centres around retinal implanting as a form of treatment in combating retinitis pigmentosa, a group of genetic eye conditions that leads to blindness.
Retinitis pigmentosa has a number of symptoms including a deterioration in a suffers visual abilities in low light conditions and also tunnel vision. The condition usually leads to the sufferer becoming legally blind by middle age, with minimal sight retained. However, the genetic condition can lead to complete blindness in some cases, with the disease taking complete hold in rarer instances at a much earlier age, and is certainly not unheard of in children. The rate of progression of the disease is different in each case.
The condition occurs when abnormalities of the rods and cones in the eye or the retinal pigment epithelium of the retina are present. The disease gradually begins to effect peripheral vision before the centre of sight is effected. This trial aims to place the implant below the retina in the macular region. This has lead to improved visual results with suffers reporting an increase in their abilities to read and recognise objects. Unlike previous testing, the subjects of this second wave of clinical trials will be able to keep the implant permanently. As the disease is currently labelled as incurable with progression leading to certain blindness of some degree, the scientists in charge of this research are excited by the possibility of offering real hope and improvements to those afflicted by it.