Why is it suddenly getting so much attention?

In the past 10 years there have been significant discoveries about DNA and ways in which it can be
manipulated. This has caused a resurgence and excitement within the scientific community pushing
more preclinical and now clinical studies. In addition, sponsorship awareness and preclinical successes
have increased and the Food and Drug Administration has approved some gene therapy drugs.

Is gene therapy a cure?

Because it is still in the experimental phase it is not known if gene therapy is a cure but that is the goal.

Can the changes gene therapy causes be passed on to future generations?

There are two different types of cells, Somatic and Germ, germ cells exist as eggs and sperm and only
have one set of chromosomes and these are the cells that are passed to offspring. Somatic cells are
present everywhere else in the body and have two sets of chromosomes. Right now gene therapy is only
given to somatic cells and therefore the changes it causes cannot be passed onto offspring. It is possible
that in the future gene therapy could occur in germ cells but right now that is not happening.

How long is the treatment what does it entail and does it reach every cell in the body?

Treatment can be given systemically or inject it into the affected area. Systemic treatments are given via
IV and are typically longer up to a few hours this also depends on your weight. A large adult will receive
more gene therapy than a small child so the treatment will be longer. Injected treatments are
completed immediately as soon as the fluid is injected into the area. Gene therapy that is administered
systemically does have the potential of reaching all somatic cells depending on the dose but gene
therapy is more often targeted to only the diseased cells.

Why are there variations in responses to gene therapy? 

There are many reasons for this, one is that every individual has different DNA so gene therapy may
work better for some than for others. In addition there is variability in the success of the drug, how
effectively the gene is delivered to cells, how many cells need the gene to function and how much
enzyme the introduced gene produces.

Is gene therapy safe? What are possible side effects?

As with any drugs, side effects are possible and expected. Normal immune system responses such as
fever are common but severe responses do occur but it is important to remember that no drug can be
given to humans until there have been preclinical safety studies and the data approved by the FDA.

Gene therapy may help relieve symptoms and resolve other medical cost. Will insurance pay for it?

It is currently unknown if insurance will pay for it; one gene therapy on the market has been covered
by some insurance companies. Some companies developing gene therapies are exploring ways to
connect the cost to how well the treatment is working.
Who will be able to receive gene therapy? Will it be only those with severe or life-threatening
disease?

Before gene therapy can become widely available, it will likely be tested on more severely affected
patients. Most scientists are currently focusing on development of gene therapies for severe
disorders. In addition, individuals who have already been exposed to the virus in which the gene
therapy is packaged will not be eligible for treatment. The viruses used in gene therapy are naturally
occurring in benign but still foreign to the body because of this individuals can come in contact with
the virus and antibodies development. Those antibodies would destroy the gene therapy before it
could be effective if that person were to be treated with gene therapy.

What is the difference between gene therapy and gene editing?

Gene therapy is the introduction of a new gene to the cell to compensate for a mutated gene. Gene
editing replaces an existing gene in the patient's DNA with a correct copy. Gene editing can involve
removing a mutated gene adding a correct gene or both, kind of like cut and paste.

How can i find out if a gene therapy clinical trial is available for my condition?

The best way to find out is by asking your specialty care provider or on, clinicaltrials.gov, where all US
clinical studies are publicly listed.

Cultural traditions of the community consumes or uses the goods sourced from biodiversity in a way
of healing. Since medicine before is not as advanced right now, they actually use many herbs and
perform rituals believing to cure many diseases. Also comparing the now and before, the cultures
used to be respectful to mother earth and believe that there are gods or spirits that they do not want
to mess up with. So when they go for fishing and acquiring goods, they just take what is needed to not
angry the gods or spirits they believed to exist. Unlike now, big ships take as much as they can in the
ocean. Cultural traditions do not abuse the biodiversity.

Business affects biodiversity in a negative way such as loss of habitats for millions of species and
degradation, erosion, species loss or extinction, air and water pollution, soil and water contamination.
Having business requires factories and buildings which basically directly affects biodiversity. Because
having big factories or buildings requires a large land and a space that will not directly affect human
community, resulting to deforesting trees in a place far from human communities.

Biodiversity is somehow really important for the survival of human kind considering that such plants are
used as a cure for many diseases and with the variety of the living things it basically helped in finding
solutions to unsolved problems. The parameters to consider is considering if the use of this particular
living is for good reason, like for example marijuana, which can be used to treat epilepsy not for other
personal purposes. And also one parameter to consider is the existence of such a living thing, it
shouldn’t be taken for advantage and just be used in studies like I doesn’t have any value at all.