Gene Therapy

It can wipe out genetic diseases before they can begin and eliminate suffering for future generations Gene therapy research is complicated enough when research diseases that already exist. Researching for disease that do not yet exist is impossible because you do not know where the mutation will occur within the human genome, or what the abnormality will be. There are far less risky medical treatments that can help prevent the spread of diseases, such as vaccines. Polio was a serious disease in the 1930’s, now it is near obsolete thanks to the invention of a vaccine for the treatment of the disease. The success rate in vaccinations is significantly higher than gene therapy. Also, the price of receive a vaccination is far less than receiving gene therapy. Therefore, instead of choosing gene therapy, we should select a more successful, less complex, cheaper, and more efficient method for the elimination of serious diseases. Give people a chance at a normal life that otherwise would not be able to. Gene therapy is often not an instant cure. Many times repeated doses of the new gene are necessary, making the patient improve slowly over time. Also, many people still have lasting effects of their disease or disorder even after gene therapy. The cost of gene therapy, as well additionally medical bills may dig the family far into debt, leading to poverty, and another abnormal life. Also, the success rate of gene therapy is extremely low, and instead of curing the person, it frequently leads to complications with their disease, or even death. Also, there are many FDA- approved methods on the market that can improve the quality of living for those stricken with diseases such as chemotherapy for cancer, and large quantities of anti-bodies for those suffering sever bacterial diseases. · Cures genetic disorders, hereditary diseases and others deadly illnesses that cannot be treated with any kinds of medications or antibiotics. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved one gene therapy product for sale. Gene therapy is experimental and is not very successful in clinical trials. There is no proof that gene therapy can cure hereditary diseases, genetic disorders, and especially deadly illnesses. Some may be optimistic about gene therapy curing diseases such as cystic fibrosis, heart problems, AIDS, or cancer; however there is no evidence proving that specific gene therapy products cure these diseases. If gene therapy cured deadly illnesses or hereditary diseases there wouldn’t be much to debate about because not many would argue against a cure for diseases that are so common in today’s society. The fact that all gene therapy procedures are experimental and not an official treatment proves that saying gene therapy can cure all of these problems is wrong. · Good technique for diseases not researched yet If a disease has not been research yet then there is no possible way for gene therapy to play a role. There are four different methods that can be used in gene therapy: § A normal gene is inserted to replace a non-functional gene § An abnormal gene can be swapped for a normal gene § An abnormal gene may be repaired through selective reverse mutation § The regulation of a gene could be altered It is impossible to accurately figure out which gene in the disease needs to be replaced, repaired, or altered without doing some sort of research on the disease. And if there is enough information on the disease provided to perform these methods, then the disease has obviously been researched.