Power Point In Sts

Group 8

Gene Therapy for chronic pain WHEN: January 28, 2008 WHO: Andreas Beautler and researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine

The pain gate

This could bring relief to patients suffering from chronic pain while bypassing many of the debilitating side effects associated with traditional painkillers.

They

injected a virus carrying the gene for an endogenous opioid directly into the spinal fluid of rats. It was targeted to the dorsal root ganglia. AAV- adeno associated virus

It

creates pain relief without the side effects such as constipation, nausea, sedation and decreased mental acuity. It lasted as long as three months from the single injection.

The

technique effectively restored the rats to a normal level of pain sensitivity. This approach could be tested on humans in as few as three years.

Gene Therapy for Alcoholics WHEN: January 09, 2008 WHO: Yedy Israel and his colleagues at the University of Chile

Alcoholic animals: Researchers in Chile have used gene therapy to curb drinking in alcoholic rats.

This

therapy curbed the activity in the liver of an enzyme ALDEHYDE DEHYDROGENASE. It make the patient sick while they drink.

The

researchers started with rats bred for their alcoholic tendencies and offered them limited quantities of diluted ethanol. Cut off animal access the animal access to alcohol and injected a virus containing a gene.

Those

rats drink half as much, on the average, as the untreated animals. The effect lasted throughout the monthlong study,

If this gene therapy could be applied to humans , it may be a valuable addition to the drugs and behavioral approaches used to treat alcoholism.

Gene therapy 'hope' on impotence

 When

is it discovered: June 3, 2007.  Who discovered it: Scientists at Wake Forest University, with the help of Dr. Arnold Melman  Who will benefit from it : Those who are suffering from erectile dysfunction or impotence.

 For

erectile dysfunction.  Treatment is well-tolerated  Delivery-injection into the penis.  The Wake Forest therapy works by inserting small pieces of DNA into cells to trigger the production of proteins which, in turn, help smooth muscle cells relax.

Gene Therapy Stops Gum Disease

When it was discovered: December 17, 2008 Who discovered it: Scientists at the University of Michigan Who will benefit from it: People with rheumatoid arthritis and gum disease

 used

an inactivated virus to produce more of a naturally-produced molecule soluble TNF (tumor necrosis factor) receptor  Gene therapy can be used to successfully stop the development of periodontal disease, the leading cause of tooth loss in adults.

Gene therapy to grow new hair cells and restore hearing

When it was tested: February 14, 2005 Who discovered it: Yehoash Raphael, Ph.D. Masahiko Izumikawa, M.D. Who will benefit from it: The future researchers that will try to put this gene therapy to humans.

Atoh1

Gene - a key regulator of auditory hair cell development - pro-hair cell gene