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1. What is gene therapy?
Gene therapy is a method in which normal genes are introduced in the body in place of the defective or missing genes in the body to treat genetic conditions.
2. What diseases can be treated with gene therapy?
Gene therapy has been used to treat the following conditions:
• Leukemia
• Hemophilia
• Severe combined immune deficiency
• Cystic fibrosis
• Blindness caused due to retinitis pigmentosa
3. What are the types of gene therapy?
Somatic gene therapy and germline therapy are the two basic types of gene therapy.
4. What technology is used in gene therapy?
In gene therapy, genes are inserted into individual tissues and cells to treat hereditary conditions. The defective mutant genetic material in the gene is replaced by a functional one. Viral vector technology is one of the methods used to carry out this process. Here a virus is used to carry the new gene and replace the corrupt one.
5. Has the FDA approved gene therapy?
Although clinical trials are being conducted to prove the effectiveness of gene therapy in treating certain genetic conditions like cancer, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved gene therapy. However, the FDA has approved only few gene therapy products for sale.