Researchers in the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact at the University of Oregon have developed, in mice, a new gene therapy that could eventually provide an alternative treatment for Fuchs’ endothelial corneal dystrophy, a genetic eye disease affecting roughly one in 2,000 people globally. Currently, the only treatment is corneal transplant, a major surgery with associated risks and potential complications.
“When you do a transplant you make a huge difference for that person, but it's a big deal for the patient with lots of visits, lots of eye drops, lots of co-pays, and if you had a medical treatment that did not require surgery, that would be great,” said Bala Ambati, a research professor in the Knight Campus and corneal surgeon who led an eight-year study involving the development of the gene therapy. “Not only could it help patients who need a transplant, but it could also help a lot of other people who could have used that (corneal) tissue."