Gene Therapy

Gene Therapy

Gene Therapy

Gene therapies can be used to fight disease. There are three main ways to achieve this; by inactivation of the dysfunctional/mutated gene in the DNA, inserting a new gene into the body to help fight off disease effectively or by replacing the dysfunctional gene with a healthy, new gene (U.S National Library of Medicine, 2014). There are many conditions that could benefit from this type of treatment, like HIV, Cancer, and Multiple Sclerosis just to name a few. However, this type of treatment is still in undergoing research, scientists are still debating whether it’s safe to treat diseases. Searching for a cure to a specific disease does not demean the lives of those currently affected; on the contrary, it is a ray of hope for those suffering from current diseases.

Gene therapy has not been accepted by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in part, due to its potential side effects of toxicity, cancer and inflammation. Scientist are working on making this treatment as safe as possible for the public, research is, of course overseen by the FDA and the NIH (National Institutes of Health). So far there are only clinical trials, available for diseases that have no other cures (U.S National Library of Medicine, 2014). Those who wish to participate in clinical trials can do safely knowing that the FDA can shut down any trial they deem suspicious, or harmful to the volunteers. Germ-line which is a form of gene therapy not currently allowed to be tested on humans, because the dysfunctional gene does not get passed on to future generations; although seemingly beneficial germ line gene therapy can have many side effects on the development of the future fetus.

Currently, there has been proven success in significantly reducing the mutated gene leading to Hemophilia B (Roberts, 2012, p. 3). The first approach to treating this condition was to have a virus transport the new gene into the body; unfortunately, this activated an oncogene in...