Ethics Report Gene Therapy

Human Gene Therapy and Ethical Issues

Gene therapy introduces or alters genetic material to compensate for a genetic

Commonly asked questions regarding gene therapy: •How can “good” and “bad” uses of gene therapy be distinguished? •Who decides which traits are normal and which constitute a disability or disorder? •Will the high costs of gene therapy make it available only to the wealthy? •Could the widespread use of gene therapy make society less accepting of people who are different? •Should people be allowed to use gene therapy to

Research Issues

Scientific and ethical discussions about gene therapy began many years ago, but it was not until 1990 that the first approved human gene therapy clinical trial was initiated. This clinical

However, the success of the therapy was tentative, because along with the gene therapy the patients also continued

How do researchers determine which disorders or traits warrant gene therapy?

Unfortunately, the distinction between gene therapy for disease genes and gene therapy to enhance desired traits, such as height or eye color, is not clear-cut. No one would argue

Even though gene therapy for the correction of potentially socially unacceptable traits, or the enhancement of desirable ones, may improve the quality of life for an individual, some ethicists fear

Some of the problems of gene therapy include: •Short-lived nature of gene therapy - Before gene therapy can become a permanent cure for any condition, the therapeutic DNA introduced into target cells must remain functional and the cells containing the therapeutic DNA must be long-lived and stable. Problems with integrating therapeutic DNA into the genome and the rapidly dividing nature of many cells

Immune response - Anytime a foreign object is introduced into human tissues, the immune system has evolved to attack the invader. The risk of stimulating the immune system in a way ●

Problems with viral vectors - Viruses, while the carrier of choice in most gene therapy studies, present a variety of potential problems to the patient --toxicity, immune and ●

Multigene disorders - Conditions or disorders that arise from mutations in a single gene are the best candidates for gene therapy. Unfortunately, some of the most commonly occurring disorders, such as ●

Chance of inducing a tumor (insertional mutagenesis) - If the DNA is integrated in the wrong place in the genome, for example in a tumor suppressor gene, it could induce a tumor. ●

Religious concerns - Religious groups and creationists may consider the alteration of an individual's genes as tampering or corrupting God's work. ●

Ethical Concerns of Genetic Enhancement

Genetic enhancement raises a host of ethical, legal and social questions. What is meant by normal? When is a genetic intervention "enhancing" or "therapeutic?" How should the

That is, will genetic enhancement be available to all or only to the few who can afford to purchase it using their personal finances? These questions relate to the two major

Some have speculated that genetic enhancement might affect human evolution. Philosophical and religious objections also have been raised, based on the belief that to

Geneticists have countered that the power to control human evolution is unlikely, as the evolution of the human species is a nonrandom change in allelic frequencies resulting from

Ethical and social concerns center not so much on the improvement of traits for alleviation of deficiencies or on the reduction of disease risk, but on the

Although the distinctions between cure and enhancement might be obvious to some, they can lose meaning in medical practice or in formulating health policy. For

Prepared by: Ms. Christine T. Manansala Q3A BS- Biology