Pros And Cons Of Gene Therapy

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Definition Gene therapy is replacing defective and missing genes with working, normal genes. This is done by introducing the body to a carrier, called a vector, to transfer the gene into the cell. Sometimes, the vector is in the form of an innocuous virus. Therefore, this kind of gene work is used to treat and correct genetic disorders. Someone might do this because it is helpful in correcting life-threatening genetic diseases and treating various mental disorders. PROS One pro to using gene therapy is because it's main use is to treat diseases, consequently providing people exposed to it may live better, easier and more functioning lives. While giving people easier lives, it also has the ability to save those lives! People with troubling…show more content…
All good things have a counter bad thing with it-- so even if gene therapy causes other diseases, then with the insight received from practicing the therapy, then we could, in theory, cure those too! Seven to ten million people are currently living with Parkinson's disease-- worldwide, and many, many of those people could have easier, more maintainable lives with gene therapy. Twenty-nine people have diabetes in the United States, alone. Those people are all capable of leading normal lives with gene therapy. Gene therapy isn’t only a treatment-- it's a research! Doing this therapy would give new, and needed, knowledge in the medical and scientific fields. The first gene therapy research experiment was conducted in 1983, at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, by a group of scientists. "The scientists conducted experiments in which an enzyme-producing gene (a specific type of protein) for correcting the disease was injected into a group of cells for replication. The scientists theorized the cells could then be injected into people with Lesch-Nyhan disease, thus correcting the genetic defect that caused the disease." Elaborated

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