Genetic Disorders: The Positive Aspects Of Gene Therapy

One main benefit of gene therapy is that is can cure multiple diseases when the gene is replaced. There has been reports of successful gene therapy operations including restoring vision and hearing to some of the patients that receive it. The use of this technology could lead to a cure of blindness and deafness, something that has never been actually accomplished in the

Imagine a world where wheel chairs do not exist or the illnesses that cause the mandatory use of wheel chairs are wiped out. The advancement in science that is being used to explore the possibilities to prevent or cure human disease is called gene therapy. The purpose of gene therapy is to remove or reverse the mutation of the cells in an embryo or a child, thus eliminating the disease from the child and the existence of the disease. With this advancement in science, children who are diagnosed with an inherited death sentence or an illness that will cause suffering within their life span are given a second chance. The support of gene therapy would give hope to parents who suffer from the horrifying decision of “pulling the plug” on their young children who suffer from inherited illnesses. In addition, instead of allowing ourselves to endure the guilty conscious of knowing our children have a high chance of contracting a genetic illness, it’s time for legislation around the world to fund the eradication of illnesses from embryos. Critics claim that the future of gene therapy will result in unborn children being treated as products when the parent imposes on their children’s natural life skills and physical features (“Human Enhancement: The New Eugenics.”). Also, ethicists worry that the process of successfully tinkering with an embryo opens doors to strive for perfect humans. Although there is the potential for the reemergence of eugenics and the creation of “designer

Regardless to what gene therapy is, it has been characterized as unethical by society, and reveals to be quite dangerous. An article, “Genetic Engineering”, states, “If scientists can cure genetic disorders, they can also design individuals in accordance with the cultural and intellectual fashions of the day. Will humans know when to say “enough” to the changes that can be made with HGT?” [17] According to this article, many people are standing out and protesting these sort of procedures for not being rectitude. Adding on, many fear that this medical life-saving treatment will be used to alter the physical appearance of someone without a medical purpose. Say if in the future, gene therapy is used to modify a person’s appearance, it could possibly

The possibilities are endless, countries with accessibility to this technology will have a major advantage over those that do not both from an economic and scientific perspective. Economies may boom in countries where societies become “enhanced”. Military application on soldiers could make armed forces significantly more efficient. Germline gene therapy or manipulation can change/enhance future generations of people. Nevertheless, gene therapy has many hurdles to overcome and as with introduction of any revolutionary technology, only time will tell, after all, many predictions about the future of society and technology have fallen flat in some

There are many reasons why gene therapy is useful, the most important one is to cure hereditary diseases. These are usually incurable and you are born with them so they usually make the person who suffers from them struggle to have a normal life, however, it’s becoming easier and easier to do it. But, thanks to gene therapy that

Mucopolysaccharidosis Type 2, also known as Hunter Syndrome, is a rare genetic condition. Approximately 100,000 children around the world, mostly males, inherit Hunter Syndrome. Patients suffering from the effects of Hunter Syndrome could find relief and cures through individualized gene therapy.

In the last two decades, gene therapy has improved from mental concepts to clinical trials and laboratory experiment. Gene therapy is a technique that is currently being tested to see if genes can be used to treat or prevent disease. This method can successfully be able to replace a mutated gene with a healthy copy, knock out a mutated gene that is not functioning and introduce a new type of gene in the body to help fight a disease a human being may have. Gene therapy is a work in progress system that basically inserts a “normal” genome to replace the gene that is “abnormal” and causes disease.

Gene therapy could cure many genetic disorders, such as Cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder with no cure that causes excess mucus in lungs, digestive tract, liver, and increases susceptibility to infections. In the case that a couple is likely to birth a child with cystic fibrosis, most specialists recommend against the couple having children, as cystic fibrosis can greatly shorten the child’s lifespan. One such case would be a scenario such as this: A couple has

Many problems can be detected from the mothers womb before the child is born. Instead of aborting a baby with issues, genetic engineering can help ensure that children live long and healthy lives even if inheriting a particular disease, syndrome, etc. Since genetic engineering not only benefits people, with it new foods can be created that are able to resist rough temperatures. Lastly, diseases and illnesses in young and old people can be cured with the help of it too. Progressively, diseases like Fibrosis and Huntington's could be fully eliminated with the help of genetic

In the modern world humans have been able to design and create nearly anything, most to aid us in our daily lives and improve our standard of living. It is only inevitable that eventually humans would take our superior knowledge and skill to manipulate life itself and change our genome to produce a healthier and even more superior human standard of life. In recent years discussion about gene therapy has changed into a promising possibility to treat many of our common human diseases and disorders. Although gene therapy might be the answer to many problems, it has been met with a number of logistical and ethical hardships. With the prospect of being a treatment for inherited genetic disorders, cancers, and viral infections, gene

Gene therapy is a relatively new practice in genetics that aims to correct mutations at a molecular level instead of using drugs or surgical approaches. Different approaches to gene therapy include gene augmentation therapy, gene inhibition therapy, the killing of specific cells, somatic gene therapy, and germ line gene therapy. Through gene augmentation therapy, faulty genes would be taken out of the genome sequence and replaced, effectively ending the effects that the mutated gene had on the body. An example of a gene that would be replaced is the mutated p53 gene. If functioning correctly, the p53 gene should stop the formation of tumors.It works by binding to DNA in the cell and stimulates the production of p21, which when combined with a cell division- stimulating protein, stops cell division. When the p53 is mutated, it fails to stimulate the production of p21 and the cell begins to divide uncontrollably. The gene therapy would replace the faulty p53 gene with a normal p53 gene.

Modern science is advancing perpetually each year, aiding millions of people with thousands of diseases or disorders. New discoveries happen each day. Steadily advancing the modern science front, and gene therapy is no exception. Genetic therapy can be defined as a form of transplantation of nucleic acids into a foreign subject with hopes that it will improve or even cure certain diseases or symptoms. (Dexi Lui, 1997) Medicinal practices in countries that practice western medicine seem to be directly related to technological advances. As technological understanding increases, medical practices and knowledge has the opportunity to be increased. Some of these advances are undergoing a lengthy trial period, mostly due to possible side effects, or until the proper method of administration is determined.

Many scientists and others believe that if gene therapy can be refined, it could be implemented to ultimately put an end to genetic disorders. The parents would have the children they want, and the children who had the natural disposition towards a genetic disorder could possibly become a normal child, whereas otherwise they would probably end up losing their life due to abortion. Those that support gene therapy view it as a win-win strategy:

Every living thing is the product of the genes that were passed down from ancestors. Genes make up everything we are. One gets their traits from their parents. Most people live full lives with relatively good health. However, some people inherit mutated genes or faulty genes. This could lead to genetic disorders that could be life threatening. Even today, many genetic disorders still remain incurable, leaving many people without hope. Genetic therapy could be their answer. It is through this research that the cure for genetic disorders can be found. Though some people believe it is unethical or immoral to alter genes, current therapeutics have not been able to save the lives of the patients with these diseases. Genetic therapy

Gene therapy, in a nutshell, is the use of genetic information from genes in the treatment and prevention of diseases to modify the phenotype of cells. According to Maria P. Limberis of the University of Pennsylvania, “prior to the publication of the DNA structure by Dr. James D. Watson and Dr. Francis Crick, Dr Clyde E. Keeler predicted in 1947 that gene therapy would be ‘a therapeutic technique’, ‘achieving permanent correction of hereditary diseases’. Delivery and expression of a therapeutic gene in an affected tissue or organ holds great promise for the treatment of various life-threatening acquired and inherited diseases that affect humans”[21].