Gene Therapy Essay

There are many kinds of treatments and therapies for certain diseases and disorders. For example, cancer patients might receive chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. Although these treatments may work or help some patients, there is another option that is evolving. Research and experimental testing have helped scientists discover a new way of treating and possibly curing various diseases and disorders such as influenza, HIV, hepatitis, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.Gene Therapy was first discovered in the middle of the 1980’s and was successful in it’s very first trial. Gene Therapy could possibly become the major treatment or even the cure among many diseases and disorders in the near future. Scientists and researchers are working

According to the National Institute of Health, “Several studies have already shown that this approach can have serious health risks, such as toxicity, inflammation, and cancer. Some risks may be unpredictable.” Patients need to be able to understand these risks and be able to freely decide whether they want to agree to GT treatment or not. Since the risks are so severe, no patient should be unaware of the flaws involved with this type of treatment. A fatal trial in 1999 made it very clear how fragile GT still is even with all of the new technology and discoveries. Jesse Gelsinger had a rare liver disease and participated in a gene therapy trial. He had an inflammatory response after receiving a dose of experimental adenovirus vector and died. This event halted all trials in the U.S.. Since then, researchers have found ways to avoid inflammatory responses to viral vectors in order to insert the genes in a less life threatening way.Overall the downsides can be very severe, but new research will help make it a much safer and more available treatment over

According to an article by Derek Whitney, “As early as 1990, patients with immune disorders have been successfully treated with the introduction of genetic material into the patient’s white blood cells.While the material needs to be constantly introduced to the patient and is not a permanent cure, GT has been shown to drastically improve the quality of life for patients with this type of disease.” On September 4, 1990, a four year old girl became the first GT patient. She had adenosine deaminase deficiency (an immune disorder) which made her defenseless against infections. They took white blood cells out and replaced them with normal genes for making adenosine deaminase. Ten years later she was still healthy and benefitting from the treatment. She had developed a stronger immune system and maintained a normal WBC count.GT has also made a huge impact on patients dealing with leukemia. At a cancer center in Pennsylvania, patients with lymphocytic leukemia had T-cells removed and genetically rebuilt so they would become weapons against the cancer cells. 26 of the 59 patients are now cancer free. Many people may believe the negatives of GT are too risky to attempt, but with the success it has had with such serious diseases, it may be well worth the risks and time it