The doctors selling false hope to people facing blindness
More than two million people worldwide have retinitis pigmentosa, but for most of them there is no treatmentDoctors around the world are offering false hope and bogus treatments to millions of people with an incurable condition that can lead to blindness. BBC reporter Ramadan Younes, who has the disease himself, went undercover to expose them.
When I returned to my home in Cairo, Egypt, I told friends and family that my sight was improving - but it wasn't true. Nothing had changed. In Gaza I met people living in refugee camps who had gathered thousands of dollars from friends and family to be treated with injections of glucose and vitamins, along with vibrating massage devices.
But unlike most trials in the US, which are funded by the government or private drug and medical device companies, in this case patients have to pay $20,000 to take part. But former patients told me a different story. One, named Ahmed Farouki, said that after the procedure he found he could no longer see with his left eye.
A short disclaimer tells users that "listing a study on this site does not mean it's been evaluated by the US federal government". Responding to claims that there were "zero adverse events" from the procedure, Dr Thomas Albini - also from the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute - said it was "extremely difficult for me to believe".
In 2021, the American Academy of Ophthalmology permanently terminated the membership of Dr Weiss after investigating the way the trial was run.
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