The Potential of Gene Therapy to Cure Diabetes

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The Potential of Gene Therapy to Cure Diabetes

Abstract

Gene therapy treats and prevents a disease by introducing a vector of genetic material into certain cells to alter the function or ability of a gene. The promise of gene therapy as a cure for diabetes has been considered ever since this new technology emerged into the clinical and research sphere. Although such methods have yet to undergo human clinical tests, gene therapy holds much potential to bring a radical new way of treating autoimmune diseases such as diabetes. By targeting certain genes that control the insulin and ?-cell production in the pancreas, gene therapy will someday fulfill its potential to cure the disease that is the number one cause of heart disease in the United States. This paper will explore the potential protocols and products that can be used to treat Type I Diabetes.

Diabetes is an autoimmune disease that has affected more than 140 million people in the world. This disease, results from the attack of the killer T-cells of the immune system upon the ?-cells in the pancreas that produces insulin. (Lin et al., 2001). Until recently, this disease could only be treated with daily insulin injections and adherence to a strict, low glucose diet. With more than ninety percent of diabetics at risk for future complications like heart disease, blindness, and renal failure, diabetes has developed into more than just a medical issue. Diabetes is also becoming largely an emotional and economic issue. Victims of this disease have no choice but to adjust their lives around the only object that could change their lives?a daily injection that may cost 50% of the annual income in developing countries and up to 600% in non-developed countries. New technology th...

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