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These include issues around the governance of the therapy, whether treatment should be available only to those who can afford it, and whether the availability of treatment creates a stigma for those with color blindness. Given the large number of people with color blindness, there is also the question of whether color blindness is a disorder. [16]
Gene therapy is a general treatment for genetic disorders; it uses viral vectors to carry typical genes into cells (e.g. cone cells) that are not able to express functional genes (e.g. photopsins). It may be possible to restore color vision by adding missing opsin genes – or a functional copy of the entire gene complex – into the cone cells.
There is no cure for most causes of color blindness; however there is ongoing research into gene therapy for some severe conditions causing color blindness. [2] Minor forms of color blindness do not significantly affect daily life and the color blind automatically develop adaptations and coping mechanisms to compensate for the deficiency. [ 2 ]
Retinal gene therapy holds a promise in treating different forms of non-inherited and inherited blindness.. In 2008, three independent research groups reported that patients with the rare genetic retinal disease Leber's congenital amaurosis had been successfully treated using gene therapy with adeno-associated virus (AAV).
As achromatopsia is linked to only a few single-gene mutations, it is a good candidate for gene therapy. Gene therapy is a technique for injecting functional genes into the cells that need them, replacing or overruling the original alleles linked to achromatopsia, thereby curing it – at least in part. Achromatopsia has been a focus of gene ...
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An April paper reported that gene therapy addressed achromatopsia (color blindness) in dogs by targeting cone photoreceptors. Cone function and day vision were restored for at least 33 months in two young specimens. The therapy was less efficient for older dogs. [190]