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Monday, 15 July 2013

Gene Therapies Fight Disease By Manipulating Human Genetic Material

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By Morgan Carroll


The use of recombinant DNA, stem cells and molecular science has led to gene therapies that manipulate genetic expression to treat of a host of diseases.

Inborn errors of metabolic process or hereditary defects are reversed or repaired by gene therapies that place a functioning gene into the cells of the affected individual to correct cell dysfunction.

Genetic code generates the instructions to treat a disease or disorder by placing the code into cells and creating a repaired function or restoring a missing function. Worldwide, there are thousands of medical clinical trials underway.

Many diseases of genetic origin are induced by the action of many diverse genes acting together. For example, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, pain, ulcers, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, ADD ADHD are each caused my an assortment of different genes.

When used to treat the more than 6000 genetic diseases, gene therapies can be most successful.

Many diseases are being treated by the gene therapies developed by researchers:

An assortment of inherited diseases as varied as immune deficiences, high blood pressure, ovarian cancer, renal cancer, metastatic melanoma, malignant glioma, ocular diseases and Huntington's corea.

And Huntington's disease, bubble boy disease (SCID), HIV-AIDS, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, heart disease, cystic fibrosis, Huntington's disease, blindness and hemophilia.

Unregulated cell growth is the hallmark of cancer. It's not a single disease. The impairing of normal physiological functions and the spread of the cancer to other parts of the body are the targets of cancer gene therapies.

Gene therapies have been evolved by researchers that safeguard against and reverse many different types of cancer.

The definition of cancer is uncontrolled cell multiplication. A great majority of clinical trial underway worldwide target the uncontrolled cell proliferation of cancer.

One half of all cancers are caused by mutation of the P53 tumor suppressor. Natural tumor suppressors impede cancer. The tumor suppressors BRAC1 and BRAC2, when mutated, make individuals more prone to developing breast and ovarian cancer.

Theraputic DNA was successfully transferred into individuals using the herpes simplex viral vector in prostrate cancer gene therapy. Prostrate cancer is the second leading cause of death in American males, and the most often diagnosed cancer found in men.

With head and neck cancers, impairment of the 9p21 gene is the hallmark genetic error. The gene is also implicated in cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It happens early in the progression to cancer. An impaired or mutated P53 tumor suppressor gene occurs in 1/2 of all cancers.

Diseases will be ultimately be treated by the merger of gene therapy and stem cell therapy. Stem cells can be triggered to turn into any of the body's numerous cell groups.

Treating life-threatening acquired and hereditary diseases have developed that use gene therapies developed from molecular genetic science.

Inserting a curative gene into the genome of a person makes use of gene therapy technology to remedy or prevent disease in the body or specific parts of the body needing treatment.




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