There are so many sayings involving the eyes that if I really fancied torturing you I could probably write this entire column purely in verse and proverb. Don’t worry I won’t, but I will shed some light on the latest eye research.

It really isn’t hard to see why eyes have consumed our fascination throughout human history. Firstly, of all our organs they are the most visible. Add their transparency, colour and shape and they appear almost magical.

The lacy iris, in its many shades is captivating, almost like an entire galaxy has been captured in each glassy orb.

Behind the surface, a huge array of different cells are working at lightning speed to capture information from the world around us and send it to our brain. It happens so fast and so automatically that most of us rarely stop to think about how much we rely on sight.

About 360,000 people are currently registered blind in the UK, not to mention the millions of people in developing countries who are blind and have no access to treatment of even the most basic kind. Over the past 18 months some significant breakthroughs have occurred that have offered hope for many blind and visually impaired people. Even more exciting is that some of the biggest breakthroughs have happened right here in Oxford.

Professor Robert MacLaren is using gene and stem cell therapies to treat a range of retinal diseases. Prof MacLaren’s group recently published the results of a clinical trial where they restored vision in patients who were going blind because they were missing a gene called CHM.

By injecting a therapy containing the CHM gene patients had significant improvement in their sight.

Prof MacLaren’s group is also working on an incredible device called an electronic retina that is essentially a computer chip containing light sensitive diodes (a diode is double-ended piece of material that conducts electricity). The diodes are connected to electrodes that send electrical impulses to the nerves in the retina.

This device mimics the natural processing of information by the retinal cells. The electronic retina is transplanted surgically into the eye and so far has been extremely successful in the small number of patients treated. It has wide ranging applications for lots of different causes of blindness.

Stem cells are showing great promise as new treatment for blindness. This approach involves taking stem cells found at the front of the eye and training them to become healthy, replacement eye cells. Stem cells can be programmed to be any type of cell you need. The healthy eye cells are then transplanted into the eye replacing the cells that were defective.

Next time you are standing in front of a mirror, do yourself a favour and forget about examining your face for new wrinkles. Instead take a moment to marvel at the intricate, sophisticated machines that are your eyes. There it is impossible not to find true beauty.

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