In most cases, doctors treat patients with medications or surgery, but what if there was a way to treat some diseases such as-cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, beta thalassemia, sickle cell disease etc by changing a patient’s genetic makeup?
Sometimes these diseases can’t be treated by drugs or surgeries so in those instances gene therapy can be used. But do you think it’s a reliable way? Do you want to know more in this regard? Let’s proceed then!
What is Gene?
Your genetic makeup determines things like your eye colour, hair texture, and even some parts of your personality. Genes serve as the “instruction handbook” for the body. Your genes dictate how your body functions. They are composed of a substance called DNA and are found in practically every cell in your body.
Why is gene therapy used?
Our overall health is greatly influenced by our DNA. A DNA sequence that is regarded as “normal” for each distinct gene exists. However, this DNA sequence might occasionally deviate from the norm due to environmental or genetic factors.
Gene therapy can help with it. Through gene therapy, our DNA can be changed. The objective is to restore any aberrant DNA to its original state. This can entail replacing the damaged gene with a functioning copy. Alternatively, it can include turning off the problematic gene.
How does gene therapy work?
Gene therapy aims to alter the way your body’s natural genes function. There are three possible outcomes for this:
- Gene inhibition: Preventing the disease-promoting gene from being active.
- Gene augmentation: Introducing a healthy copy of a gene into a cell that already has a defective gene in order for the healthy copy to mitigate the damage brought on by the defective gene
- Killing disease-causing cells: Delivering a sick cell “instructions” (a set of new DNA), which results in the death of the cell
Do you think gene therapy is beneficial or not?
You’ve probably noticed that gene therapy is both intriguing and somewhat complex.
But there are advantages and disadvantages to employing gene therapy, just like with any medical procedure. It’s crucial to consider both the risks and advantages of any medical procedure.
Pros of Gene Therapy
In cases where no other treatments have been effective, gene therapy may be able to cure a patient. Compared to some other therapies that call for several dosages, this is intriguing. Gene therapy may be able to permanently eliminate a person’s symptoms.
Many people’s lives can be improved via gene therapy. A parent who has a defective gene removed from them won’t pass that gene on to their offspring. Huge technological advancements over the past few decades have made gene therapy possible. We can anticipate further advancements in gene therapy as technology develops.
Cons of Gene Therapy
Gene therapy can be quite expensive, which makes it unavailable to some people. There are still many things we don’t understand about gene therapy, despite its recent development. There are currently no assurances.
It’s yet unclear how effective gene therapy will be. There is some worry that gene therapy might have negative effects if it affects cells other than the defective cell in the body. Gene therapy raises ethical concerns for certain people. Some gene therapies deliver healthy genetic information into a sick cell in the body using inactivated viruses.
Do you think gene therapy is safe?
The procedure of creating gene therapy is drawn out and closely supervised. Teams of scientists evaluate the safety and efficacy of gene therapy at every stage of its development, from the early research studies through the clinical trials that put it to the test.
All of this regulation of gene therapy increases the likelihood that significant health hazards will be found and eliminated before a treatment is made accessible to the general public. This method isn’t error-free, though. Toxicity and adverse effects are still possible with medications, as with any drug. Given the recent development of gene therapy, there may be unknown hazards.
Gene therapy and gene editing, however, come in a wide variety of forms and methods. Understanding how genes function and how genetic changes can impact our health is crucial. Numerous aspects of gene therapy and gene editing are being researched by scientists all around the world.
Click here to read more blogs.
Writer:-
Fahima Akter
Intern
Content Writing Deaprtment YSSE