All About Gene Therapy

by Mine G.

Human genetics has started playing an important role in human biological studies. Studies show that genes can be blocked or replaced to possibly prevent people from developing a genetic disease or reducing the negative effects of the genetic disorders. One of the most common methods for that is the gene therapy. So what does gene therapy exactly mean?

Gene therapy basically refers to the therapy that replacing damaged genes in the DNA with the new laboratory designed corrective genes to treat the possible genetic diseases. Gene therapy was first tried in 1972, but it soon became a popular method to treat the the mutated genes among the scientists.
To replace the genes in a human cell, scientists need a career(a vector) that can deliver the genes into the human body. The most common vectors are usually the viruses because they can be genetically modified to carry human DNA. After the vectors are chosen, vectors infect the patient's target cells. After the infection, the vector transfers the human gene into the target cell.
Gene therapy nowadays is studied to cure many genetic diseases such as cancer, hemofilia, sickle cell anemia, even blindness.
To give an example, in a study done by Oxford University, scientists managed to recover a disorder called Choroidemia, which causes a person to develop lack of vision and might even lead to blindness by applying the gene therapy on the patient.
Even though it is considered to be an efficient treatment for some cases, complications might occur during the gene therapy, therefore gene therapy is said to be a challenging method for most of the studies. For example, the genes has to be delievered to the right cell and be active. Scientists should make sure that it doesnt block other genes to function. Furthermore, some cases the immune system of our body could react because the vectors carrying the DNA could be considered as potentially harmful organisms. Also, most importantly, gene therapy usually is done as case studies, which could cost a lot for an individual to afford.

To find out more about gene therapy check the video below:

References: What is gene therapy? (2016, January 25). Retrieved April 11, 2016, from http://www.yourgenome.org/facts/what-is-gene-therapy

 Basic Process of Gene Therapy. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2016, from http://www.genetherapynet.com/basic-process.html

Mandal, A. (2014, January 14). What is Gene Therapy? Retrieved April 11, 2016, from http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Gene-Therapy.aspx 

Images: http://www.yourgenome.org/facts/what-is-gene-therapy