Gene therapy carries the promise of cures for many diseases and for types of medical treatment that didn't seem possible until recently. With its potential to eliminate and prevent hereditary diseases such as cystic fibrosis and hemophilia and its use as a possible cure for heart disease, AIDS, and cancer, gene therapy is a potential medical miracle-worker.

But what about gene therapy for children? There's a fair amount of risk involved, so thus far only seriously ill kids or those with illnesses that can't be cured by standard medical treatments have been involved in clinical trials using gene therapy.

As those studies continue, gene therapy may soon offer hope for children with serious illnesses that don't respond to conventional therapies.

Our genes help make us unique. Inherited from our parents, they go far in determining our physical traits like eye color and the color and texture of our hair. They also determine things like whether babies will be male or female, the amount of oxygen blood can carry, and the likelihood of getting certain diseases.

Genes are composed of strands of a molecule called DNA and are located in single file within the chromosomes. The genetic message is encoded by the building blocks of the DNA, which are called nucleotides. Approximately 3 billion pairs of nucleotides are in the chromosomes of a human cell, and each person's genetic makeup has a unique sequence of nucleotides. This is mainly what makes us different from one another.

Scientists believe that every human has about 25,000 genes per cell. A mutation, or change, in any one of these genes can result in a disease, physical disability, or shortened life span. These mutations can be passed from one generation to another, inherited just like a mother's curly hair or a father's brown eyes. Mutations also can occur spontaneously in some cases, without having been passed on by a parent. With gene therapy, the treatment or elimination of inherited diseases or physical conditions due to these mutations could become a reality.

Gene therapy involves the manipulation of genes to fight or prevent diseases. Put simply, it introduces a "good" gene into a person who has a disease caused by a "bad" gene.

The two forms of gene therapy are:

Currently, gene therapy is done only through clinical trials, which often take years to complete. After new drugs or procedures are tested in laboratories, clinical trials are conducted with human patients under strictly controlled circumstances. Such trials usually last 2 to 4 years and go through several phases of research. In the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must then approve the new therapy for the marketplace, which can take another 2 years.

The most active research being done in gene therapy for kids has been for genetic disorders (like cystic fibrosis). Other gene therapy trials involve children with severe immunodeficiencies, such as adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency (a rare genetic disease that makes kids prone to serious infection), sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, hemophilia, and those with familial hypercholesterolemia (extremely high levels of serum cholesterol).

Gene therapy does have risks and limitations. The viruses and other agents used to deliver the "good" genes can affect more than the cells for which they're intended. If a gene is added to DNA, it could be put in the wrong place, which could potentially cause cancer or other damage.

Genes also can be "overexpressed," meaning they can drive the production of so much of a protein that they can be harmful. Another risk is that a virus introduced into one person could be transmitted to others or into the environment.

Gene therapy trials in children present an ethical dilemma, according to some gene therapy experts. Kids with an altered gene may have mild or severe effects and the severity often can't be determined in infants. So just because some kids appear to have a genetic problem doesn't mean they'll be substantially affected by it, but they'll have to live with the knowledge of that problem.

Kids could be tested for disorders if there is a medical treatment or a lifestyle change that could be beneficial or if knowing they don't carry the gene reduces the medical surveillance needed. For example, finding out a child doesn't carry the gene for a disorder that runs in the family might mean that he or she doesn't have to undergo yearly screenings or other regular exams.

To cure genetic diseases, scientists must first determine which gene or set of genes causes each disease. The Human Genome Project and other international efforts have completed the initial work of sequencing and mapping virtually all of the 25,000 genes in the human cell. This research will provide new strategies to diagnose, treat, cure, and possibly prevent human diseases.

Although this information will help scientists determine the genetic basis of many diseases, it will be a long time before diseases actually can be treated through gene therapy.

Gene therapy's potential to revolutionize medicine in the future is exciting, and hopes are high for its role in ;curing and preventing childhood diseases. One day it may be possible to treat an unborn child for a genetic disease even before symptoms appear.

Scientists hope that the human genome mapping will help lead to cures for many diseases and that successful clinical trials will create new opportunities. For now, however, it's a wait-and-see situation, calling for cautious optimism.

Date reviewed: April 2014

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