Medical professionals are planning on using gene therapy, an experimental technique to help prevent and treat different diseases. The aim is to help doctors and other trained medical professionals treat their patients suffering from certain disorders by putting genes into their patients’ cells. Many believe that this is an ideal way of treating people compared to using drugs or having to have surgery to help improve their patient’s health.
These days, there are lots of different ways experts are approaching and researching gene therapy. From what experts have found so far, gene therapy seems to be very promising. However, they do believe that there are a lot of risks involved in comparison to conventional approaches. Therefore, before medical professionals are legally allowed to use gene therapy, researchers have been carrying out plenty of studies to see whether or not it is safe. In these reports, they are also keeping a close eye on whether or not gene therapy effectively treats certain diseases that don’t have any cure at the moment.
It can help Change a Person’s Life for the Better
Unfortunately, there are many people out there that are suffering from diseases. The goal of gene therapy is to provide these people with new medications and treatments so that their pain and suffering can be alleviated. Even minor changes in the medical world can have a huge influence on some people’s lives. For more information, check out Celixir.
Many people suffer from multiple diseases, and experts believe that gene therapy can help make a dramatic difference. For example, they have been testing people who suffer from a rare blindness condition called Leber Congenital Amaurosis. They believe it can be cured with this, allowing people to see it again. In addition, some studies suggest it can work to fight against Parkinson’s disease. Experts have been researching for years on treating Parkinson’s. However, they have had very little success. If gene therapy was to work and doctors could use it, then this would be a major game-changer in the medical industry.
There is extensive screening available to parents throughout the US, yet there are still a large number of babies that have defects and genetic diseases when they are born. A recent report claimed that one in every thirty-three babies have some type of birth defect when they are born. This is the main reason why infants die in the United States each year, and gene therapy offers hope to those planning to have a family.
Animals can Benefit from Gene Therapy too
Although gene therapies are yet to be applied to veterinary science, it is believed that they can help increase animals’ lifespan. However, because they are in the earlier days of the research, experts are unaware of whether it will reverse or halt the diseases in animals. Plus, it might take many years before they can prove the therapy is effective. Nevertheless, if a disease is treated during the early stages, then gene therapy could prove extremely beneficial.
At the moment, people are unaware of how much gene therapy would cost to treat an animal. Although there is no gene therapy approved in the US, Steimvelis, which is a human therapy, has been approved by the European Union in recent years, which is used for those suffering from the inherited immune disease. However, the cost of this therapy is worth more than $600,000.
The Cost is Expected to Drop
Gene therapy is technology-based, and it is expected that the cost will drop significantly down the line as advancements are made in the medical field. Very few people can afford the treatment, but it is expected that it will be readily available and affordable for those in the future. As research continues, the price will inevitably drop. A similar situation happened when penicillin first came on the scene. The initial cost was ludicrous, but as time went by and demanded increased, the medicine was worth pennies.
Conclusion
Those in the medical industry are getting very excited about what they have found while researching gene therapy. If it can heal rare genetic disorders, affecting approximately 30 million people in America, it could be a major game-changer. In addition, it offers hope for many people who would have given up.
Unfortunately, a lot of the therapies that have been tested have proven to be ineffective. On the other hand, it seems like a lot of the therapy helps improve patients, by only for a short period. Many people who have been going through these trials had reverted to the same state that they were in before they had gone through gene therapy. As the studies continue, experts hope that more trials will lead to long-term solutions for those suffering.