Doctors at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London say they have achieved what was once thought impossible: restoring vision and stopping blindness in people with a rare and serious eye condition called hypotony.
Hypotony happens when pressure inside the eye drops to dangerously low levels, causing the eyeball to collapse in on itself. This can lead to permanent vision loss. Until now, treatments have been limited and often only slowed the damage without bringing real sight back.
In a major breakthrough, specialists at Moorfields have developed a new treatment using a clear, water-based medical gel called hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC). Instead of being used briefly during surgery, the gel is injected directly into the eye at regular intervals to restore pressure and keep the eyeball in its normal shape.
Early results are highly encouraging. In a small trial, seven out of eight patients responded positively to the therapy, with several regaining useful vision.
One of the first patients is Nicki Guy, 47, who had been losing her sight since 2017, shortly after the birth of her son. Both of her eyes were affected by hypotony, and traditional treatments, including silicone oil, failed to stop the damage.
“I went from being almost blind to being able to read again,” she said. “I can see my child grow up. That’s everything to me.”
Nicki now reads most lines on a standard eye test chart and is close to the level needed to drive — a remarkable improvement from relying on a magnifying glass and memory to move around her home.
Her doctor, Mr Harry Petrushkin, described the results as extraordinary. “We filled the eye with something you can see through, and it worked far beyond what we expected,” he said. “She should, by all medical logic, have lost vision in both eyes. Instead, she is living normally.”
The treatment involves injecting the gel into the eye every three to four weeks for about ten months, helping maintain healthy pressure and allowing the retina to function properly. If the light-sensing cells at the back of the eye are still alive, vision can return.
So far, 35 patients have received the treatment under a charity-funded programme, and the first eight results have been published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. Doctors believe the therapy could help hundreds or even thousands of people each year.
While more research is needed, specialists say this marks a major step forward in the fight against blindness caused by hypotony.
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