Night vision often fades first, followed by a narrowing of peripheral vision. In retinitis pigmentosa, this progressive loss can eventually lead to blindness.

An experimental treatment has now helped some patients recover limited visual abilities.

The approach combines a gene injection with special goggles. In a small trial involving 10 people with profound vision loss in both eyes, some participants became better able to detect objects, locate them, and reach toward them while using the device.