Gene Therapy and Gene Editing in Healthcare

Abstract

Gene therapy and gene editing have had huge effects on our modern-day world. Their scope extends further than what we have accomplished so far. That being said, gene therapy and gene editing have given us to ability to treat many fatal diseases, and the research continues.

One disease that has had a lot of traction in the gene editing field is Cystic Fibrosis (CF). CF is an autosomal recessive genetic disease that has been the focal point of some research into what diseases CRISPR-Cas9 can treat. CRISPR-Cas9 is a gene editing tool which came as a shock to most of the world due to its unique features. Unlike other genetic modification tools, CRISPR is cheap and efficient. 

Gene therapy also has its place in healthcare. Gene therapy refers to the process of introducing new DNA into cells. This is to replace missing or defective DNA. By doing this, the idea is to have functional DNA in the cells which are causing the disease. Gene therapy is the oldest form of genetic manipulation.

Clinical trials use research into treating diseases with gene editing or gene therapy to treat patients inflicted with the disease. 

For a clinical trial to proceed, many ethical considerations need to be taken into account. To organize these considerations, Beauchamp and Childress proposed four main principles of bioethics. These pillars include beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and justice. These principles ensure patients’ safety in clinical trials.