Gene Therapy Research Meaning, Uses, Pros, And Cons

There are many people who could benefit from gene therapy research because such studies will ultimately inform doctors of exciting new therapies to potentially cure serious diseases and aid recovery from crippling injuries.  However, gene therapy is not always perfect. Scientists have to take a look at what they can do to get something out of this research, and on a personal level you need to work with a reputable lab that knows how to help you. There are many sources you can use to get a handle on this research, and each step in the process could bring you closer to getting your health back.

1. The Trials

You could get into some gene therapy trials that will help you improve, but you will not know if you are going to get better if you are in a new sort of program. You have to remember that there are always risks to your body using these trials. You might be in a trial that helps researchers figure out what to do next, or you could get better much faster because the gene therapy on trial is effective.

2. Curing Cancer

Gene therapy and cancer are linked because it is an obvious target for such treatment and there are so many people affected by cancer (1 in 3 people at some stage of life) and the potential consequences so devestating that there's no shortage of study participants. Cancer patients could receive gene therapy that will make them feel so much better and tumors reversed because doctors may be able to repair genes that have mutated. Someone who has been diagnosed needs to go right to the lab to see if they can qualify for a gene therapy trial just for cancer.

3. Car T Cell Therapy

The CAR T cell therapy is just another way to treat certain disorders that deal with these mutated cells. You have to be certain that you have talked to a doctor who can let you know what will happen if you get this therapy now and can have your body change overnight. You have to ask the staff if they are in trials or if this particular therapy has been proven to work; ideally you could have a certain therapy matched up with your specific diagnosis.  

4. The Pros

Such amazing medical advances mean people can be cured of things that they could not be cured of in the past, and there are a lot of people who will be so much healthier - and potentially have their life saved -  because of these treatments. Someone who with a serious disease, such as cancer, should think seriously about exploring gene therapy and talk to their doctor.

5. The Cons

It might not work. There are some trials that show certain types of gene therapy are not proven effective yet, and there are many people who will want to use these therapies even if they think they will not work. You have to get yourself ready for any outcome.

You can get the gene therapy that you need if you have worked with people in a lab who are constantly studying this area and creating new treatments. It might not work all the time, but there are instances in which you can be relatively sure of a successful outcome because the mutated genes are able to be repaired.