Defects in retinal genes cause
a devastating from of childhood blindness.
Gene therapy is really, I think at the forefront
of treating retinal degenerations.
There are now over 20 clinical trials
addressing various diseases in ways that
we didn't really think possible before.
Come on.
Having to make a decision on his behalf has been
a real struggle.
This treatment could change our lives,
this could stop a truly terrible disease.
As we tackle the problem of
childhood blindness, this is going to be a real breakthrough
in our ability to change the course of the disease
in a way we never thought possible.
Maverick is my firstborn child, he has been
the most amazing child to raise
from the day that he was born.
I didn't have a lot of experience with babies
before I had him, but I just noticed
that he had a blank stare.
Checked his tracking vision and it was non-existent.
We went through all the genetic testing
and it came back positive for Leber's congenital amaurosis
with a specific genetic marker of RPE65.
The cones and the rods in the eyes don't allow for
light perception so he is legally blind
with specifically low-light blindness.
He also doesn't have peripheral vision
or vision below his waste.
It's almost tunnel vision.
Ahh, I need a parachute now, help me!
Up here is my room,
and these are my pillows.
This is my eye patch.
It has to be the right lighting for him to see.
Once the sun goes down, his world is very dark.
We take him inside, turn on all the lights
until it's time for bed.
Maverick's condition is degenerative.
There is no timeframe of when the degeneration
will take place, but it is a well-known fact
that he will be completely blind in later years.
It took his thoughts quite some time to subside
into sense of fire and sulfur, a torched landscape.
In December of 2017, the FDA approved gene therapy
for Maverick's specific condition and so we went
and talked to Dr. Nagiel shortly after it was approved.
Oh, mine goes right behind you.
Maverick was six years old when I first met him,
and this family, for a long time had struggled
with getting a diagnosis, and then we're very excited
finally to hear that there was a treatment.
Luxturna is a gene replacement therapy
whereby we're delivering a normal health copy
of the RPE65 gene to patients who have two defective copies.
This medication is a virus which has essentially
been modified so its only job
is to deliver the genetic material.
We deliver this virus with a very fine needle
underneath the retina and then we have a healthy copy
of a gene that's been missing
in the cells that normally make it.
Unfortunately with this disease,
the cells that absorb the light, the photo receptors,
are constantly degenerating and there gets to be a point
where there simply aren't enough cells to function
even if we were to deliver that gene back.
So it makes a lot of sense to treat
earlier pediatric patients, young patients when they
have those cells there and just need the normal copy
of the gene to make the protein functioning again.
So treatment early in children is really the way to go
to achieve the best results.
Here at Children's Hospital Los Angeles,
we've treated 17 patients, so 34 eyes.
We have data that the treatment effect is stable
without any loss in function.
Five years ago, there were no treatments for this disease
and for the bulk of retinal generations, these patients,
if they were lucky, they got a diagnosis
with genetic testing but beyond that, there wasn't much
that we could do aside from
get the most out of the vision that they have.
Since the FDA approval of Luxturna, that's really opened
the door to not just treating this relatively rare
retinal degeneration, but essentially
any retinal degeneration.
This has been probably the most difficult decision
that I've ever had to make in my entire life.
It makes me very nervous because it is so new,
if it doesn't go well, it's my fault
because I chose to do this to my child.
I honestly feel like I hit the jackpot
when I had Maverick.
I don't know any other seven-year-old kid
that could handle everything that he has been through
with such appreciation for life, you know?
He is willing to do or try anything.
All right, here we go.
After today, our life could potentially change forever.
I love you. I love you, buddy.
He might go back home and for the first time
have fun with his friends by the pool as it's getting dark,
ride his bike at dusk, go trick-or-treating,
these are the sort of improvements that really
change a child's life and the motor confidence
that comes with ambulating and interacting
with the environment in a way that they couldn't before,
I think really has life-long consequences.
It takes seven days for the corrected DNA
to be absorbed so at seven days,
he could potentially see again.
It just comes in very small doses and it could take
up to four months, they said.
Maverick had his two surgeries, and we are home.
The first day that I really noticed
that something was different was riding in the car,
and he said mom, I'm just looking outside
and I'm seeing what is outside the window,
like I've never been able to see through the windows
and it seemed so small but it was really life changing
for him to be able to look out of a window.
Okay, listen to me. One more game of tag.
Maverick, sit. Ready?
One more game.
One, two, three, four, five, I'm coming out!
I see you guys!
In the past seven years, we don't even come
in the backyard at night.
This is a true miracle.
You can not stop me!
Okay, I've got Maverick.
Willow, come here, get him.
He has a whole new level of independence
and he is ready to conquer anything that is given to him.