Definitions
What are genes?
Genes are the "blueprints of a person." They are inherited from your birth parents. They determine the physical and some psychological features of a person including hair, eye, skin color, psychological disorders and more.
Why do we use Gene therapy?
We use gene therapy to attempt to correct fatal genetic disorders to save patients lives.
Why would some people not like the idea of gene therapy?
Some people do not like the idea of gene therapy because some people believe it is unethical to change a persons genetic characteristics.
What are the differences for In Vivo and Ex Vivo?
In Vivo: Inserting the genes to the body that will be targeted to be delivered to the cells.
Ex Vivo: Removing the patients cells to add the gene into the cells outside of the body.
What are the two kinds of gene therapy?
The two types of gene therapies are In Vivo and Ex Vivo.
Why is gene therapy not used very often yet?
Gene therapy is not commonly used yet due to its cost, argument of whether it is ethical or not, and mostly how there is enough research and testing done on gene therapy yet to claim it the best solution to many diseases or genetic disorders.
What is DNA?
Deoxyribonucleic acid: The double helix in each of our cells that carry genetic information. DNA controls everything in every living thing.
What does gene therapy do exactly?
A vector carries the new gene into the body or into the cell and is programmed to target the cells and go into the nucleus to replace the mutated gene(s).
What are the side affects of gene therapy?
Your immune system might react to the vector of gene therapy causing side effects including nausea, vomiting, fever, chills and headaches. However, these symptoms do not last long and resolve within a day or two.
What is a mutation?
Genetic mutations are genetic abnormalities or changes in genetic sequences. Some genetic mutations are harmless, however others can cause disease or disabilities and can sometimes be fatal.
What is gene therapy delivered with?
Gene therapy is delivered through In Vivo or Ex Vivo with a vector. Vectors are normally viruses because of their ability to target cells. These viruses are normally extracted of their infection to prevent the patient from becoming sick.
How much does gene therapy cost?
Gene therapy costs between $375,000 and $875,000. This is a significant reason on why gene therapy is not very common yet.
What is gene therapy?
Gene Therapy is the correction of genetic disorders or mutations by replacing dangerous or abnormal genes with new, safer genes.
Is gene therapy open to anyone?
Gene therapy is only approved by the FDA for clinical trials. Along with this, gene therapy is not for everyone and is not able to cure all genetic disorders. Gene Therapy also has the ability to worsen genetic conditions.
What is a safety concern for gene therapy?
The main safety concern for gene therapy is that cancer is created by oncogenes that were turned on by the vectors. This was a larger problem in earlier gene therapy tests, however they are making more improvements to change vectors that caused cancer cells from appearing.