'Totally blind mice have had their sight restored by injections of light-sensing cells into the eye, UK researchers report.
'The team in Oxford said their studies closely resemble the treatments that would be needed in people with degenerative eye disease.' - BBC Although this story doesn't directly relate to our stock pick, Vision Eye Institute [ASX: VEI], there is an indirect relationship.
To re-cap, Vision Eye Institute is involved in what you could call the vision improvement industry. It provides services such as laser eye surgery and cataracts treatment. It does this through 19 surgeries in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
The reason I mention the 'blind mice' story is that it gives you a clue about the kind of things currently happening in medical research.
Technology has come a long way since the development of the first corrective eyeglasses around the 15th century...
The 'Glasses Apostle', Church of Bad Wildungen
Source: Wikipedia
And no doubt things will change further over the coming years...and perhaps even more rapidly...
Google Founder Wearing Internet Specs
Source: Telepresenceoptions.com
Technology has a habit of doing that. A new thing bursts onto the scene...it makes a mark, but further progress slows. But then a scientist or entrepreneur discovers something new, and progress takes off in another burst.
Take eyeglasses. Yes, things have changed, but the basics of using a convex lens to correct vision didn't change for hundreds of years. That's because there isn't really that much more you can do...a lens is a lens. Look at the two images again. There isn't that much difference in the appearance of the two sets of glasses (and they both have beards).
Sure, you had the emergence of contact lenses, but again, the concept of eyeglasses and contact lenses is broadly the same — a convex lens.
Then laser eye surgery burst onto the scene. Next thing you know it seems like everyone is getting laser eye surgery. And again, except for advancements in technology to do with the laser eye surgery process, that's where progress stopped...until now.
Now it seems medical researchers are on the verge of another breakthrough, the ability to repair lost vision using a simple injection. As the BBC reports:
'The research team, at the University of Oxford, used mice with a complete lack of light-sensing photoreceptor cells in their retinas. The mice were unable to tell the difference between light and dark.
'They injected "precursor" cells which will develop into the building blocks of a retina once inside the eye. Two weeks after the injections a retina had formed, according to the findings presented in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.' According to Professor Robert MacLaren:
'We have recreated the whole structure, basically it's the first proof that you can take a completely blind mouse, put the cells in and reconstruct the entire light-sensitive layer.' I know some people will find it uncomfortable and even objectionable that scientists test on animals. I get that. But I also believe that if the testing helps with the long-term health and happiness of humans then it's worthwhile.
Can you imagine the impact this research could have on thousands of people's lives? In 2004, the Medical Journal of Australia noted that 50,600 Aussies suffered from blindness.
And in respect to Vision Eye Institute, it already has experience with intravitreous injections (injecting into the eye). So should Oxford University's researchers prove successful with this potential breakthrough, it could be the next revolutionary step in curing blindness and correcting vision...
And if that happens, Vision Eye Institute could be well-placed to benefit.
VEI Price at posting:
56.5¢ Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held
