The Aspects of GENE

THERAPY
 GENE THERAPY
• Medical science has detected many human disease related to defective
genes. These types of disease are not curable by traditional methods
like taking readily available medicines. Gene therapy is potential
method to either treat or cure genetic- related human illnesses
• In 2015, a team of researchers at the Harvard medical school and the boston
children hospital stated that they were able to restore basic hearing in
genetically deaf mice using gene therapy.
• They used an improved gene therapy vector developed at the Massachusetts
eye and ear that was identified as “An80” which enables the transfer of genes
to inaccessible outer hair cells when introduced into the cochlea (Fliesler,
2017).
• Human gene therapy was actually first realized in 1971 when the first
recombinant DNA experiments were planned. It can be simply were
viewed as insertion foreign DNA into a patient’s tissue that hope to
successfully eradicate the targeted disease.
The Basic Process
There are several approaches to gene therapy. These are the following
(fliesler, 2017).
Replacement of mutated gene that cause disease with a healthy copy
the gene.
Inactivation of a mutated gene that is functioning improperly.
Introducing a new gene into the body to help fight a disease.
 Two types of
GENE THERAPY
Stem Cell Gene Theraphy
• Stem cell are mother cells that have the potential to become any type
of cell in the body. One of the main characteristics of stem cell is their
ability to self-renew or multiply while maintaining the potential to
develop into other types of cells. Stem cell can become cells of the
blood, heart, bones, skin, muscles, brain among others.
• The embryonic stem cells are derived from a four-or five-day-old
human embryo that is in the blastocyst phase of development. The
embryos are usually extras that have been created in IVF (in vitro
fertilization) clinics where several eggs are fertilized in a test tube
then implanted into a woman (Crosta, 2013)
• The Somatic stem cell are cells that exist throughout the body after
embryonic development and are found inside of different types of
tissue. These stem cell have been found in tissue such as the brain
bone, marrow, blood, blood vessels, skeletal muscles, skin, and the
liver.
 The Bioethics of Gene
Therapy
There are ethical issues involved in gene therapy. Some of inquiries cited
are (Genetics Home Reference, 2017):
1. How can “Good” and “Bad” uses of gene therapy be distinguished?
2. Who decides which traits are normal and which constitute a
disability or disorder?
3. Will the high costs gene therapy make it available only to the
wealthy?
4. Could the widespread use of therapy make society less accepting of
people who different?
5. Should people be allowed to use gene therapy to enhance basic
human traits such as height, intelligence, or athletic ability?