Gene therapy eyedrops restore boy's sight, offer hope for millions with eye diseases

A 14-year-old boy with a rare genetic skin blistering condition regained his vision after receiving gene therapy through eyedrops.
The therapy uses an inactivated herpes simplex virus to deliver working copies of a gene that produces collagen, which holds skin and corneas together.
The boy's vision significantly improved after treatment, with measurements of 20/25 in one eye and close to 20/50 in the other.
The therapy was originally developed for the boy's skin lesions but shows promise for treating various eye diseases by changing the delivered gene.
It offers hope for the millions affected by debilitating eye diseases like Fuchs' dystrophy.