"Gene Therapy: Pro's and Con's for Use in Our Society" Bio 123 General Biology Jonathan Jones February 6, 2002 Gene therapy is a scientific experiment that has proven itself in recent years to having the potential of curing many of today's deadly diseases. This process was first proven successful in 1990. This recent discovery has opened many doors for scientist. It has provided hope for both patients and doctors to finding cures to some of the most common diseases.What is gene therapy? Gene therapy is a procedure in which a healthy gene is used to modify a damaged or unhealthy gene. This process is not only lengthy but also difficult. It can be broken down into five steps.1. ...view middle of the document...
Finally they state that the viruses used to deliver these new and healthy genes has the ability to replicate themselves, leading to chronic infection or even cancer. Those against gene therapy eventually had evidence of its possible harm. In September of 1999, the University of Pennsylvania had a patient die undergoing treatment of gene therapy. (ASGT 3.) At this point the government stopped all experimentation at the university. Many well-known medical institutions and organizations experimenting with gene therapy volunteered to stopped all procedures also. The FDA decided to review and develop new monitoring procedures concerning this matter. There is now an Approval Process, which must occur before any experiments with gene therapy are conducted. It first must pass through at least two review boards at the scientists' institution. Then the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee of The National Institute of Health must review the protocol and the NIH director must sign it. Finally if preformed in the United States, the scientists' must be sure to follow all regulations and standards set by the FDA. This has been the main cause as to why the progress of this new field has slowed down in recent years. But scientists...
