http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44261033/ns/health-childrens_health/t/no-more-bubble-boy-gene-therapy-gives-kids-normal-lives/#.UE9Qbo1lQmY&__utma=63030192.1946154504.1347897069.1347897069.1347897069.1&__utmb=63030192.1.10.1347897069&__utmc=63030192&__utmx=-&__utmz=63030192.1347897069.1.1.utmcsr=msnbc.msn.com|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/id/3032507/ns/world_news/&__utmv=63030192.|8=Earned%20By=todayshow%7Ctoday%7Ctoday%20health%7Ctodayhealthfranchise=1^12=Landing%20Content=Original=1^13=Landing%20Hostname=todayhealth.today.com=1^30=Visit%20Type%20to%20Content=Internal%20to%20Original=1&__utmk=262327371
This is really great! Babies born with this disease will now get a chance to live normal lives when they get the treatment. Parents wouldn't have to worry as much about their kids not having a strong immune system and the kids wouldn't have to be sealed up in sterile plastic enclosures away from the world to protect against all the germs. Many children in the past have died from this disease because scientists could not find a strong cure. So Guy Pearce was one of the first patients to be cured of this SCID disease and now after being treated with the new gene therapy, the little boy can now "do all the things his friends can do and more".
It was also mentioned that the gene therapy scientists and doctors came up with was an "experimental treatment" that just "appears" to be long-term success. This experiment worked out well and it is a success for many kids with the disease. But what if it hadn't worked? What if something came up in the experiment that they hadn't thought about? In the past, old cures for this disease had led to leukemia but what if something else bigger comes up for this new cure? Would the scientist be able to handle the criticisms?
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I agree with you that that this is a really great medical advancement that will help improve the lives of many. I think that if the treatment had not worked, scientists would still have continued to search for a cure because any child born with this disease dies or if they don’t die have to live in isolation. Since gene therapy is a relatively new medical technique, its long term effects have not been thoroughly studied. It is possible that in the future unforeseen problems may be observed. However, scientists and doctors will continue learning from these treatments so they can minimize potential harmful effects and improve the therapeutic effects to the patient.
ReplyDeletehttp://todayhealth.today.com/_news/2012/09/11/13804809-siblings-among-first-cured-of-bubble-boy-disease?lite
I read another article on Bubble Boy disease and found that treatment for it is still undergoing research and is a very expensive procedure. The gene therapy is not guaranteed to work on anyone and appears to work best on younger children (infants).