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 * A New Kind of Therapy**

Therapy. It’s a common word in today’s society. Typically people think of occupational therapy, or physical therapy. Lately however, a new kind of therapy is becoming more and more prevalent in American society. Gene therapy.

Gene therapy is a method used to fix or switch out genes responsible for the development of genetic diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and Parkinson’s disease. It was first discovered in the 1980’s by William French Anderson. There are a number of interest groups involved with gene therapy, and it receives a great deal of funding each year from sources such as Michael J. Fox.

Currently, a wide variety of gene therapy treatments are in various stages of clinical trials. Although no treatments have been approved by the National Health Institute (NIH), many treatments are getting very close to success. Dr. Martha Doemland says that “clinical trials are ongoing with over 2,400 [gene therapy] trials listed in the FDA’s clinical trials listing.”

Hopewell Valley Central High School nurse Mrs. Vaccaro says that “they [medical professionals] must perfect it [gene therapy] in one disease first. That will open the gates for other types [of gene therapy].”

There are several different ways that gene therapy works. First, a normal gene can be inserted in a location within the genome to replace a gene that is non-functional. This technique is the most common technique. Another technique is to swap an abnormal gene for a normal gene.

The abnormal gene can also be repaired through selective reverse mutation, which hopes to normalize the gene. The last method is to adjust the regulation of a particular gene could be altered. The regulation of a gene is how much the gene is turned on or off.

Although currently gene therapy may seem like something out of a science fiction movie, Dr. Doemland and Mrs. Vaccaro both believe that in the future, gene therapy will be as common as vaccinations are now.

Mrs. Vaccaro says that “They must perfect it [the process of gene therapy] in one disease first.”

Right now however, much of gene therapy is still a mystery to the American public. Dr. Doemland says that “only people who are affected by [genetic] diseases” are aware of the capabilities of gene therapy. Similarly, Mrs. Vaccaro says “Until you become involved with it, you don’t really know.”

In a survey of 100 students at Hopewell Valley Central High School, 36 were aware of what gene therapy was, and 31 were somewhat aware of what gene therapy was.

Gene therapy is not perfect however. Many people criticize the treatment, citing the dangers it poses and the expense.

Dr. Doemland says that “regulations directed at ensuring the safety of patients are in place and evolving along with technology.” Additionally, she believes that there are dangers associated with any type of intervention or medical progress, and those associated with gene therapy are no greater.

For instance, one type of gene therapy currently being experimented with is for the genetic disease cystic fibrosis. In this instance, new genes are delivered through a cold virus. It is risky however, because a person with cystic fibrosis can die from a cold.

Mrs. Vaccaro believes that people who have a genetic disease will be will to take the risk and participate in clinical trials in order to advance treatment of the disease for them and future generations.

The big question however, is whether or not gene therapy will actually work. Clinical trials have so far received mixed results, and no treatments have received official approval yet. Dr. Doemland believes that those with genetic disease will absolutely be affected as the research continues on, even if they chose not to participate in clinical trials.

Mrs. Vaccaro says “I don’t want to say it will cure it. My hope is that it will help them lead essentially normal lives.”

Gene therapy has shown promise, and will continue to do so as the medical world and the technology within it progresses.