Two clinical trials have shown early promise in treating common blindness-causing conditions, specifically the dry form of macular degeneration, by injecting embryonic stem cells behind the human retina. This treatment may be able to prevent the onset of vision-damaging disease and even improve patients’ vision. “We’re encouraged by the results thus far,” said Eyal Banin, ...

An experimental gene therapy for a rare hereditary form of blindness is a step closer to reality. An FDA advisory panel voted unanimously Thursday to recommend approval of a groundbreaking treatment for people with a faulty gene that impairs vision. It would be the first gene therapy in the U.S. for an inherited disease. The ...