Restoring vision using optogenetics without being blind to the risks

Retinit is pigmentosa is an incurable degenerative disease that causes loss of light-sensitive cells in the retina and leads to severe vision impairment. The development of optogenetics has created great hype around its potential to treat retinitis pigmentosa by the introduction of light-sensitive proteins into other neural cells in the retina. The first-in-human studies of optogenetic treatment for this disease have recently been reported (NCT02556736 and NCT03326336). The treatment involves irreversible gene therapy and requires access to specially designed goggles to deliver light to the treated eye. These highly innovative and high-profile clinical trials raise numerous ethical issues that must be addressed during the early phases of research and clinical testing to ensure trial participants are treated fairly and can provide appropriate informed consent.