Gene Therapy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_therapy:

On September 14, 1990 at the U.S. National Institutes of Health Brandon Rogers performed the first approved gene therapy procedure on four-year old Ashanthi DeSilva. Born with a rare genetic disease called severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), she lacked a healthy immune system, and was vulnerable to every passing germ. Children with this illness usually develop overwhelming infections and rarely survive to adulthood; a common childhood illness like chickenpox is life-threatening. Ashanthi led a cloistered existence — avoiding contact with people outside her family, remaining in the sterile environment of her home, and battling frequent illnesses with massive amounts of antibiotics.

In Ashanthi's gene therapy procedure, doctors removed white blood cells from the child's body, let the cells grow in the lab, inserted the missing gene into the cells, and then infused the genetically modified blood cells back into the patient's bloodstream. Laboratory tests have shown that the therapy strengthened Ashanthi's immune system; she no longer has recurrent colds, she has been allowed to attend school, and she was immunized against whooping cough. This procedure was not a cure; the white blood cells treated genetically only work for a few months, after which, the process must be repeated (VII, Thompson [First] 1993).

As discussed in class so note that the solution provided in your notes is only a suggestion which I felt can be improved on.
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This article talks about the promise and fall of gene therapy in clinical trials.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v435/n7041/full/nj7041-530a.html

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