Researchers’ new treatment has made it possible for people with color blindness to recognize color

The researchers used a viral vector in each participant’s eye to deliver an active version of the gene to the retina, where the cone cells are located. After the experiment, the vision of the volunteers did not change significantly, but the tests showed that all of these people could identify red lines on a dark gray background with their treated eye, whereas before they could not see any color at all.

“When adult patients were asked to describe how they perceived a red stimulus in the treated eye (when the stimulus was presented in a way for them to recognize it), they often admitted that the appropriate words to describe it were do not have After being prompted to find the exact word, they said the new color would shine differently, sparkle, or appear on a different page than its background.”

In the normal human eye, there are three types of cone cells in response to different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. The activity of the cones, individually and in combination, provides the human brain’s visual system with the information it needs to create the rich rainbow of colors that most of us take for granted.

Because bright light stimulates the eye’s cylindrical cells, which are most active at night, people with achromatopsia are unable to distinguish wavelengths or colors, and as a result, see the world around them with monochrome vision. It is possible that activated cylindrical cells interfere with the ability of treated cone cells to generate signals, preventing the treated subjects from seeing all colors.

It is possible that these people were able to see red color because the cylindrical cells are not sensitive to the longer wavelength of red color. It is possible that the cylindrical cells remained inactive when exposed to red, meaning that the function of the signals received by the cone cells was not impaired.

All patients were tested again after one year of treatment and the results of the two tests were almost identical. To people who experience the world in every visible wavelength of color, it may not seem understandable, but this experiment is a very important step.