South Korean study aims to reverse retinal damage

Researchers in South Korea claimed to have developed a drug with the ability to reverse retinal damage and restore vision. 

A team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), led by Professor Jin Woo Kim, has created a drug that restores vision by inducing retinal nerve regeneration.

The treatment was found to block the PROX1 protein, a key inhibitor of retinal regeneration, and showed lasting effects in mouse models of retinal disease, over a period of more than six months, where vision had previously been lost.

The research reportedly marked the first long-term restoration of neural regeneration in an animal retina.