An eight-year-old Canadian boy has managed to regain his eyesight as a result of revolutionary new gene therapy.
According to a recent report by CTV, Sam Banon, who hails from Toronto in Canada, was diagnosed with a genetic disorder called retinitis pigmentosa shortly after his birth.
Take a look at this news report on the miracle procedure in the video below:Retinitis pigmentosa is a rare form of genetic retinal degeneration, which left young Sam almost completely blind when in anything other than extremely bright conditions.
This meant that his family had to keep lights on in his home at all times.
Sam's progressive condition meant that his vision was so poor he was unable to see the sky on a cloudy day, or make out shapes in the dark, and was barely capable of seeing his shoes or objects on the floor.
Now, Per CTV, Sam has had his sight saved by a new drug called Luxturna.
Developed in the US by the drug company Spark Therapeutics, the miracle cure works by placing a copied healthy gene into an inactivated virus, which is then injected directly into the retina of the affected patient.
This gene then gives cells the ability to create the protein chains used to convert light into an electrical signal in the retina.
Speaking to CTV about Sam in a recent interview, Sam's mother Sara Banon says that the treatment has changed her son's life.
Banon stated:
"I noticed he could get dressed by [himself]. He could get his shoes on by himself, independently. He is so much more confident."
She continued:
"Getting dressed by himself, matching clothes, doesn’t have to have things enlarged. Being able to [see], even when it’s dark outside, no lights on and it is a cloudy day. He would have to, at school, keep the lights on. Now he is able to function as a normal child.”
Sam also spoke out about the joy of being able to see the streetlights, trees, and stars for the first time.
Commenting on the case in an interview with CTV, Dr. Peter Kertes, vitreoretinal surgeon and Ophthalmologist-in-Chief at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, stated:
"This is a huge breakthrough. Most of the advances that we have in medicine are incremental. Every once in a while, once in a generation, something revolutionary like this comes along that really changes the course of therapy."
Kertes added:
"This is the tip of the iceberg. I think this is a vector that will prove to be very effective and holds great promise ... I think we're on the cusp of a revolution in this group of diseases."
According to Fighting Blindness Canada, retinitis pigmentosa affects between 1 in 3,500 to 1 in 4,000 Canadians
