Scientists have used gene therapy to regenerate damaged nerve fibres in the eye, in a discovery that could aid the development of new treatments for glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide.
Axons — nerve fibres — in the adult central nervous system (CNS) do not normally regenerate after injury and disease, meaning that damage is often irreversible. However, over the past decade there have been a number of discoveries that suggest it may be possible to stimulate regeneration.
