Transplants of foetal eye tissue from aborted fetuses seem to have improved the vision of two out of four people with a degenerative eye disease. It is too early to be sure the improvements are real and lasting, but on the strength of the results, the team pioneering the surgery has asked regulators for permission to carry out further operations. Before the experimental surgery on her left eye a year ago, Elisabeth Bryant, who is 63, could barely see anything with it. "Now I can see people's eyes, noses and mouths when they're sitting across the room from me." Like the other patients in the trial, she has advanced retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary disease that causes degeneration of the retina. It affects around 1 in 3500 people in Western countries. Those involved in the transplants admit that there is a danger of creating false hope, but point out that the potential benefits of the procedure are so great that work on it must continue. They believe it could lead to a treatment for common diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration, which is responsible for half the blindness in Britain. This is a condition which seems to be on the increase and occurring at younger age levels.
As it is pointed out in the passage, mascular degeneration ___.
causes loss of sight in millions of people, but their sight can be restored by transplants of fetal retinal cells
is a condition that has so far never been treated
does not seriously affect vision
is an easily remedied condition
is causing considerable concern as it is occurring more frequently and among younger people
It is clear from the passage that transplants of foetal eye tissue ___.
are being regarded as an important breakthrough in eye surgery
are unlikely to attract much attention
are still at an early experimental stage
help halt the progress of any eye disease
are often rejected
According to the passage, those who have carried out the foetal eye tissue transplants ___.
are extremely dubious about their long-term success
feel it is a procedure that could prove extremely useful
will not be given permission to continue their trials
have only met with success in the case of Elisabeth Bryant
admit that its uses are very limited
We learn from the passage that retinitis pigmentosa ___.
can only be improved temporarily by surgery
is unknown except in the Western world
is the most common cause of macular degeneration
is responsible for half the blindness in Britain
is a disease that has an adverse effect on the retina