Have Retinitis Pigmentosa? Learn more about research in gene therapy

Over the last few days, I have been writing about Professor Michaelides and Retinitis Pigmentosa.
One of the exciting new advances on the horizon for this previously untreatable blinding condition is gene therapy. In this blog post, I will tell you a little more about this avenue of research.
Gene Therapy trials are ongoing in the UK for a certain type of Retinitis Pigmentosa.
Where mutations in the RPGR gene cause Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), two teams (based at University College London (UCL) and the University of Oxford) have independently developed treatments for this form of Retinitis Pigmentosa. Their trials use gene therapy to restore the RPGR gene to the photoreceptor cells in the person’s retina. Research is just in its preliminary stages.
The researchers of the clinical trial treatment can only apply it to patients in the UK who are male and who have the X-linked type of Retinitis Pigmentosa caused by genetic faults in the RPGR gene. There will likely be other gene therapy trials starting in the USA in the near future for this form of RP.
Professor Michaelides, who works at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital, sees patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa privately at Clinica London. He can advise you on what type of Retinitis Pigmentosa you may have and update you on the current UK and international gene therapy trials, and if they may be appropriate for you.