The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has tracked a new treatment in the form of a capsule that promises to benefit patients suffering from age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa. In both these vision disorders, retina’s light-sensitive cells that relay signals to the brain begin to degenerate over time. Ultimately, it results in vision loss. The suggested product is an innovation from a Lincoln, RI, biotech company Neurotech. The capsule consists of genetically engineered cells which produce a protein that helps in protects the light-sensitive cells in the retina.

Researchers are experimenting on a treatment for rare eye cancer, which has already saved some children from vision loss. The US researchers also succeeded in restoring vision in a few cases. The method involved inserting a catheter in the eye via the body so that the chemotherapy drug melphalan, made by GlaxoSmithKline under the name of Alkeran, was administered directly to the tumour.