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Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is a common genetic disorder of LDL-cholesterol, that, if untreated, leads to premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). With early diagnosis and initiation of cholesterol-lowering treatment, the risk of ASCVD can be substantially reduced. Yet, many people with FH remain undiagnosed and undertreated. GPs can play an important role in the care of patients and families with FH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vectors based on adeno-associated virus serotype 2 (AAV2) have been used extensively in many gene-delivery applications, including several successful clinical trials for one type of Leber congenital amaurosis in the retina. Many studies have focused on improving AAV2 transduction efficiency and cellular specificity by genetically engineering its capsid. We have previously shown that vectors-containing single-point mutations of capsid surface tyrosines in serotypes AAV2, AAV8, and AAV9 displayed significantly increased transduction efficiency in the retina compared with their wild-type counterparts. In the present study, we evaluated the transduction characteristics of AAV2 vectors containing combinations of multiple tyrosine to phenylalanine mutations in seven highly conserved surface-exposed capsid tyrosine residues following subretinal or intravitreal delivery in adult mice. The multiply mutated vectors exhibited different in vivo transduction properties, with some having a unique ability of transgene expression in all retinal layers. Such novel vectors may be useful in developing valuable new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of many genetic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loss of cone function in the central retina is a pivotal event in the development of severe vision impairment for many prevalent blinding diseases. Complete achromatopsia is a genetic defect resulting in cone vision loss in 1 in 30,000 individuals. Using adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy, we show that it is possible to target cones and rescue both the cone-mediated electroretinogram response and visual acuity in the Gnat2 cpfl3 mouse model of achromatopsia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]