The Wilmer Eye Institute (WEI) at Johns Hopkins Medicine has been given more than US$20m (NZ$33m) from the US National Eye Institute to fund a six-year clinical study into N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) as a potential retinitis pigmentosa (RP) treatment.

Currently approved by the FDA to treat acetaminophen overdoses, NAC is now being trialled in 450 people with RP across the US, Canada and Europe. Previous animal studies, including those conducted at WEI, showed high doses of NAC reduced cell damage caused by oxidative stress, while simultaneously reducing vision loss. “The scale of this study – trying to find a first-of-its-kind and safe treatment for this devastating eye condition – makes it highly significant,” said Associate Professor Xiangrong Kong, director of the trial’s coordinating centre and its senior biostatistician.