GENE THERAPY :: essays research papers

Many diseases seen today are the result of a defective cistron in the deoxyribonucleic acid of the longanimous and can non be cured using the traditional methods much(prenominal) as antibiotics and antiviral drug medication. The victims are now looking to factor therapy as a emf cure for their problems. Bob Williamson introduces us the concept, procedures, and problems associated with gene therapy in his article, Gene Therapy.along with the appearance of the recombinant DNA technology, it becomes possible for human beings to isolate, study, and change gene in the laboratory. Gene Therapy is the process of replacing a defective gene at bottom a unhurrieds DNA with a working gene that volition produce the correct gene products.The genetic diseases in which a single known gene does not function properly, such as sickle cellphone anaemia, thalassaemia and Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, are most competent to be treated with the gene therapy. There are two types of gene therapy in cur ing these diseases, forbearing therapy and embryo therapy. In the process of the patient therapy, the first step is identifying the defective gene and isolating a conventionality counterpart. To obtain correct gene action, it may be necessary to redact it into the correct site on the host cell chromo about, or even off to delete the defective gene, and the DNA can therefore be replicated each time the host cell divided. But if the new cell is injected directly into the patients physical structure, it will be subject to the bodys immune system that will recognize it as international and target it to be destroyed along with the healthy DNA that it is carrying. So the cells extracted from the patient are to be treated and adding the new gene in a test tube in the laboratory to make authoritative that the DNA is inserted in an appropriate place in the genome, and the cells can then be returned to the patients body. Now it is possible to offer the parents an antenatal diagnosis to look over if the fetus is affected by some single gene defects. If it does, the parents can choose embryo therapy to cure it quite an then abortion. While the basic process is similar with the one of patient therapy, to do an embryo therapy is a little bit easier than a patient therapy, because the immune rejection system of the embryo is not fully developed. The new DNA will not be ejected, while the former DNA will be altered.