Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a heartbreaking genetic disorder that usually occurs in infancy. Sometimes, though, the condition, characterized by weakness and wasting muscle, isn’t detected until adulthood. According to the U.S. Library of Medicine, SMA is usually most severe in muscles near the center of the body; it is less severe in muscles away… Continue reading What You Need to Know about Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Tag: gene therapy
New Gene Therapy Sparks Healthy Heart Beats
The most common and potentially lethal complication following a heart attack is the heart’s inability to do one of its most basic jobs: beat at a normal rate. According to a release from Cornell University, Following myocardial infarction the heart muscle cells are replaced by fibroblasts and new blood vessels, which do not conduct electricity… Continue reading New Gene Therapy Sparks Healthy Heart Beats
What Is Gene Therapy? How Does It Work?
The genes in your body’s cells play an important role in your health — indeed, a defective gene or genes can make you sick. Recognizing this, scientists have been working for decades on ways to modify genes or replace faulty genes with healthy ones to treat, cure or prevent a disease or medical condition. Now… Continue reading What Is Gene Therapy? How Does It Work?
Resurrecting Ancient Viruses in Hopes of Improving Gene Therapy
Researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Schepens Eye Research Institute have reconstructed an ancient virus that is highly effective at delivering gene therapies to the liver, muscle, and retina. This discovery, published July 30th 2015 in Cell Reports, could potentially be used to design gene therapies that are not only safer and more potent than therapies… Continue reading Resurrecting Ancient Viruses in Hopes of Improving Gene Therapy