What Diseases Can Gene Therapy Treat?

Genetic diseases are disorders and illnesses that have stumped scientists for years. The types of diseases in mention, single gene defects, are a defect or an incorrect gene in a person. These defects are normally from birth and can be passed from generation to generation. Parkinson’s disease is an example of a Single Gene Defect; this is where a person shakes uncontrollably. Another is Hypothyroidism, this is where the Thyroid gland produces too little of a hormone that the body needs. A big example of a disease is cancer but only some cancers are genetic such as breast, ovarian and colon cancer. Some other examples are: Down syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis and Alzheimer’s. Recently a new type of science has been founded as the new cure for these diseases. This scientific research is called Gene Therapy. Though it is still in the research and testing stages it has been proven to be effective in treating and destroying the gene defect in your body. In 1990 it cured a 4 year old girl in America of an immune disease. This science wants to be taken to levels where it can cure almost any disease in the body like brain tumours and other major killers though more scientific research is needed to determine which disease it can and will be used to treat.