Last year I posted four articles on CRISPR. The technology
is new and fascinating. There appears to be endless possibilities as to what it
might be able to do someday. For those of us living with a neuromuscular
condition (including Kennedy’s Disease), it offers hope.
In this latest article written by Kate Lunau for McLean’s
Magazine, researchers have taken another step forward in this quest for a
treatment or cure.
Gene editing spurs hope for muscular dystrophy cure
For the first time, a breakthrough technique called
CRISPR has been used to treat a genetic disease inside a living mammal
Kate
Lunau January 4, 2016
“Of the many diseases that afflict
us, those that strike young children seem especially cruel. One is Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which typically appears before
a child’s sixth birthday. Sufferers (almost always boys) struggle
with muscle weakness, and have trouble walking. By 12, most will be in a
wheelchair; few live beyond their thirties. There’s no cure, and it affects about one in
3,500 males born worldwide. Suddenly, with the arrival of a powerful gene
editing technique, new treatments seem to be on the horizon. In three
independent papers, published in the journal Science, U.S. scientists snipped out defective DNA in
mice with the disease—the first time this tool, called CRISPR, has been used to
treat any genetic disease inside a living mammal—and restored some of their
muscle function. ...”
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please feel free to comment. By taking a moment to share your thoughts you add much to these articles. The articles then become more than just something I said or believe. In addition, by adding a comment, you might just be helping the next reader by sharing your opinion, experience, or a helpful tip. You can comment below or by sending me an email. I look forward to hearing from you.