Italian lab to fight LCA

For a long time now, I’ve been trying hard to locate centers involved in gene therapy animal trials for LCA, and I was so surprised, and proud, to learn that one of them is right here in my country! The Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM) of Naples, Italy, was founded by the Italian Telethon Foundation in 1994. One of its current programs concerns the diagnosis and genetic study of inherited eye diseases, which includes LCA.

I just spoke with Dr. Alberto Auricchio, who is working specifically on gene therapy in animals. What struck me about him, along with his huge kindness and friendliness, was his enthusiasm for what he’s doing. It was wonderful talking to him! His lab is working on animal models for both LCA and RP. He’s also following closely the unfolding RPE65 human trials, scheduled to begin in a few months.
TIGEM also offers genetic screening for the LCA genes known so far, using a chip, which can greatly speed up the diagnosis if a known mutation is present.

Dr. Auricchio was so kind to tell me he’ll stay in touch for any updates. That is wonderful news! So nice to meet such a nice person, and so close to home too...

Do visit the TIGEM site. Lots of interesting, exciting stuff!
Go Napoli!