Experimental gene therapy restores some vision in patients with inherited blindness | [Video]

(CNN) — For her entire life, college student Olivia Cook had only a small degree of central vision. It was as if she was watching the world through a straw hole, and in dimly lit places, she could not make out people’s faces, only their silhouettes.

But after receiving an experimental gene-editing treatment to one of her eyes, she now can see things she never saw before.

Cook was born with an inherited retinal disorder that causes blindness, a rare type of eye disorder historically called Leber congenital amaurosis or LCA. A few years ago, she decided to participate in a clinical trial that involved using the gene-editing tool CRISPR to correct the form of inherited blindness that she has.

“My life has mostly changed in terms of being hopeful that there is going to be more science and findings in the future,” said Cook, 22, who is currently studying marketing and …