What is Gene Therapy?
-When genes are used to treat or prevent diseases
oWill allow doctors to treat disorders by inserting a gene into a patient’s cells. Some of
those disorders and disease include but not limited to inherited disorders, certain
cancers, and viral infections.
oReplaces drugs and surgery
-Approaches to Gene therapy
oReplacing a mutated gene that causes disease with a healthy copy of the gene
oInactivating, or knocking out, mutated gene that is functioning improperly
oIntroducing a new gene into the body to help fight a disease
-It’s a risky procedure and constantly being study everyday for improvements and to ensure when
this technique is used is will be safe and effective.
-Everyone’s condition does not meet the qualifications for gene therapy. This type of technique is
usually safe guarded for those who have a disease that have no other cures available.
How does it work?
-Gene therapy is designed to introduce genetic material into cells to compensate for abnormal
genes or to make a beneficial protein.
-If a mutated gene causes a necessary protein to be faulty or missing gene therapy may be able to
introduce a normal copy of the gene to restore the function of the protein.
-Some things that researchers have to overcome
oFind better ways to deliver genes and target them to particular cells.
oEnsure genes are precisely controlled by the body
Is gene therapy safe?
-Present very serious health risk such as
o Toxicity
o Inflammation
oCan cause cancer
-Some of the risk are unpredictable because the technique is relatively new.
-Since gene therapy are usually in the administered by way of a clinical trial then the safety of the
patient is protected under federal laws, regulations, and guidelines that are overseen by the FDA
and require FDA approval before the clinical trial can begin.
-NIH always plays an important role to ensure the safety of patients that participate any clinical
trials connected to gene therapy.
Ethical Issues surrounding gene therapy
-Involves making changes to the body’s set of basic instruction
-Target therapy is used to by targeting bone marrow and blood cells.
-Germline gene therapy
oWhen gene therapy is targeted to the egg and sperm (germ cells)
Can prevent future generation from having certain genetic but that could come
at cost of interrupting the development of the fetus in ways that have not been
discovered yet or it could have long – term effects that are also unknown.
There is no funding available for germline therapy by the U.S. Goverment due to
the ethical concerns surrounding it so there is very little information on the
effects of this type of therapy
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How can “good” and “bad” uses of gene therapy be distinguished?
oWhen gene therapy is being used to treat someone’s chronic condition in
order improve there health and give them longevity for a healthy life then
we can easily define that as a good use for gene therapy however, when
we choose to use gene therapy to enhance human traits such as
someone’s height, intelligence, or athletic ability that’s where I feel
science starts to cross the line because not having those traits doesn’t
effect someone health or determine if they will live or die.
Who decides which traits are normal and which constitute a disability or disorder?
oThe society we live today is filtered through the lens of social media.
Children, teenagers, adults, and active older adults subconsciously look to
social media to identify what is considered normal, on trend, the latest fad,
etc. and anything that doesn’t fit that mold is considered the opposite
which could be viewed as abnormal. The unfortunate part of using social
media and status quo as the litmus test for normalcy is, it creates a false
reality that goes against God’s defining moment of normal. God’s
definition of normal equals the unique characteristics of each one of us
that is wrapped in the image of God.
Will the high costs of gene therapy make it available only to the wealthy?
oThe concerns of gene therapy being accessible to everyone should not
play a factor in the ethical aspect of things because like any medical
treatment once clinical trials can prove the benefit of the gene therapy
and it safe for doctors to use with patients without unknown risk then it’s
something that insurance companies will typically get on board with and
cover it the patient meets certain qualification. For example a breast
augmentation is usually viewed as cosmetic however, is a woman has
breast cancer and undergoes a double mastectomy insurance companies
will typically agree to cover implants due to the breast cancer. Gastric
bypass surgery was typically covered out of pocket by the patient however
once it showed the improvement of people’s health and cut back on
medical cost then insurance companies got on board to cover it because it
was something that would improve their health, infertility treatments is
something that has been known to be covered by insurance companies in
the past few years if a woman had a medical condition that caused
infertility then insurance companies would step in to offset the cost to
make the treatments affordable.
Could the widespread use of gene therapy make society less accepting of people
who are different?
oWith or without gene therapy society has a difficult time accepting anyone
that doesn’t fit into that’s person mold of what’s normal.
Should people be allowed to use gene therapy to enhance basic human traits
such as height, intelligence, or athletic ability?
oNo
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