There is an incurable genetic disease in humans called retinitis pigmentosa. This disease destroys the retina over time, leaving one out of every 3,500 Americans visually impaired or blind. A researcher at the University of Missouri-Columbia discovered a similar disease in Abyssinian cats and is working on a fix for both felines and humans.
In both cats and humans, the retina is the thin film at the back of the eye that makes sight possible. If the retina is destroyed, you can’t see. Plain and simple. What retinitis pigmentosa does is attack and destroy the rods and cones — the photoreceptor cells — that help your eyes register light and color.
The veterinarian at the University of Missouri-Columbia worked with Optobionics Corporation of Naperville, Illinois to develop special self-powered silicon chips that can replace or repair diseased retinas in humans and cats. When these chips are implanted in the back of the eye, the thousands of microscopic diodes react to light and send signals along the optic nerve to the brain — allowing electrical impulses to reach the brain’s vision center. These impulses can help slow the progress of the disease and may even help regenerate the damaged rods and cones.
Using the chips in the Abyssinian cats affected by the disease will help researchers learn how to make the chips work better and help surgeons learn to implant the devices — cat eyes are very similar in structure to human eyes. Within two years, researchers will be able to tell whether or not the chips are encouraging cell repair and regrowth in the cats’ eyes.
In the few human trials that have been done, the results are just as promising. Some people with retinitis pigmentosa are seeing improved vision; many more are seeing slower progress in the disease. With the help of these Abyssinian cats, we may be looking at an end to retinitis pigmentosa in both felines and humans.