There are a number of genetic diseases
which we now know are caused by a defect at a single gene locus.
These diseases include haemophilia A, cystic fibrosis, Duchenne
muscular dystrophy, sickle cell disease, Huntington’s disease
and SCID (severe combined immunodeficiency).
Gene therapy offers the hope of introducing healthy genes into
the cells of people affected by diseases like these, enabling the
cells to function normally, and so restoring the patient to health.
A great deal of work has been done on gene therapy for cystic fibrosis,
but success has been very limited. One disease where gene therapy
showed great initial promise was in the treatment of SCID (severe
combined immunodeficiency) – but problems have
arisen there as well (see SCID – a
case study).
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There are many ethical questions
about using such new and experimental techniques
on patients who are already very sick. Here are
two pairs of commonly expressed opinions, one
in favour of treatments such as gene therapy and
one against.
| Statements - A |
"Gene therapy
shouldn’t be used on humans until
they’re sure it works."
"It's worth trying
out a new therapy which may give a person
some extra healthy time if they are going
to die or have a very poor quality of
life without the treatment."
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| Statements - B |
"Manipulating
the genes is wrong – it’s
interfering with nature."
"Medicine only
progresses by trying out new treatments,
even if the early patients die. Look at
what happened with heart transplants."
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Starting with the resources listed
below, find out about more gene therapy and the
progress made so far.
Then from each pair of statements
above, choose the one closest to your own viewpoint.
Write one or two paragraphs expressing your opinion,
putting forward the main arguments for and against
the idea and justifying your position.
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