Gene therapy could cure diseases like cancer, heart disease and other diseases. Gene therapy is when a mutated gene gets replaced in order to cure or attempt to cure the disorder or disease. Gene therapy can have several different techniques. The gene therapy basically inserts a “healthy” gene in to replace the mutated gene in the body but there are some pros and cons to it.

How does gene therapy work? Gene therapy works by introducing new genetic material in to the cells to make up for the faulty genes and by doing that it could help replace a beneficial protein. With replacing the faulty gene it can help treat the disease and stop it. In some cases the immune system doesn’t realize that there is a harmful disease. Doctors can help with the immune system realize the disease with gene therapy and make the immune system work. There are multiple ways of gene therapy.

One technique is Germline gene therapy which inserts a healthy gene in to the fertilized egg of a human or animal that has a certain defect. This process however, has some problems because of the small glass needle that is used has a high failure rate and there is minimal control over where the gene is inserted into. In addition to that it is a controversial topic because of ethical reasons. The effectiveness of the gene therapy techniques depends on the life of the targeted cell. Gene therapy is normal used as a treatment method rather that a proven way to cure because of the limited access to do it, and some ethical reasons.

Gene therapy can have some cons such as a reaction with one’s immune system to the vector (a virus carrier of the gene) which sees it as an intruder and attacks it. Another con is the targeting of the wrong cells. The vector could possible infect more than the cells with the mutated genes. A pro of gene therapy is the cells that have the mutated disease could be switched off to no longer make the disease.

In conclusion, gene therapy knocks out the mutated gene for a healthy gene. There are ways to try to fix the “bad” gene. One way is Germline gene therapy, but it is questionable because of the controversy around it. With these possible ways are the advantages and disadvantages of gene therapy.

1: What’s the difference between gene therapy and stem cell therapy?
2: Can gene therapy be used to alter humans to enhance their traits?
3: How much does gene therapy cost?