Southampton eye experts have made a ground-breaking discovery that could stop sight loss caused by a previously untreatable disease.

Professor Andrew Lotery and his team at Southampton General Hospital’s eye unit are using glaucoma drops to tackle a rare condition in children that causes progressive loss of sight.

It is still early days for the treatment, but the team is confident that this revolutionary new use of the drops could halt sight loss in later life for children born with the disease, which is exclusively found in males.

The disease, X-linked retinoschisis, a form of macular disease, is diagnosed in early childhood and gradually impairs vision until adulthood.

It causes the retina to split and can also cause irreparable damage to vision through burst blood vessels.

The team’s findings reveal that, although the vision of four patients aged between three and 25 did not improve after being treated with the drops, central retinal thickness reduced significantly and splits in the retina narrowed.

Professor Lotery, consultant ophthalmologist, said: “Although it is still early days, these results are exciting because we’ve found improvements in the appearance of patients’ retinas and a decrease in fluid build-up.

“We know there is a risk of further deterioration without treatment and the hope is, by restoring anatomical integrity and preserving the makeup of the retina, we will reduce the permanent damage that leads to loss of sight in later life.”

He added that these developments could lead to long-term benefit by repairing the shape of the eye and preventing further decline in vision.

This is the latest of a series of pioneering work from the eye unit, which included last year saving the sight of two patients with a rare genetic condition, Sorsby’s fundus dystrophy through the use of the drug Avastin.