'We are actually injecting these genes under the retina and telling the cells to produce more of this protein'

'We are actually injecting these genes under the retina and telling the cells to produce more of this protein'

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'We are actually injecting these genes under the retina and telling the cells to produce more of this protein'

A Baltimore doctor performed the first surgery in Maryland as part of a nationwide clinical trial to slow the progression of what's known as dry macular degeneration.

Dr. Eric Suan, retinal surgeon at the Retina Care Center, said degeneration causes vision loss once affected. And it can be a little or a lot, depending on how much tissue has been lost due to age-related dry macular degeneration.

"The typical patient who comes to me has a loss of central vision," Suan said. "They just can't read, they're having difficulty driving, and so this is a huge impairment for patients."

Because the tissue can't be regenerated, the goal is to slow progression.

Suan is part of a nationwide Food and Drug Administration-approved investigative clinical trial that involves a one-time surgery using a patient's own cells to create more of a certain protein thought to be low in patients with this eye disease.

"This is a very novel technique. It's gene therapy. So, we are actually injecting these genes under the retina and telling the cells to produce more of this protein," Suan said.

Suan said clinical trials are still in the early stages but that early detection is key, which makes eye exams important. Suan said research is crucial when it comes to a quality-of-life issue like vision.

"Do you want your grandmother and your loved one, grandfather, to actually be able to continue to drive to maintain independence? That really is the most important for them," Suan said.

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