Blind 14 Year Old Boy Can Now See With The Help Of the Herpes Virus
A 14-year-old who has been blind most of his life can now see thanks to a very special kind of eye drop that was administered by a cutting-edge doctor out of Miami, Florida.
Imagine thinking you’d be blind your whole life and this doctor specializing in topical gene therapy tells you all your problems could melt away with a topical gel.
According to the Daily Mail, the patient, Antonio Vento Carvajal, was born with a gene that causes so much scarring on his eyes, that his vision has severely deteriorated over time. But now, Miami doctor Alfonso Sabater has taken a form of deactivated herpes virus that’s approved as a topical gel for skin lesions and reformulated it into eye drops.
With surgery and regularly scheduled eyedrop treatments, Carvajal’s scar tissue hasn’t grown back, and his vision is nearly perfect at 20/25. Though this scientific advancement is exciting, it’s also incredibly expensive, costing about $631,000 per patient. Yes, that is an “out-of-pocket” expense as insurance may not cover all or even some of the pricey medicine.
Hopefully as medicine advances so will the cost of this therapy. It is still exciting to know that it is possible no matter what the cost.
