I wish I wish I wish this article was open access! ARG!!
This article is a great review of gene therapy as a therapy, and how it has evolved from an experiment that killed children to an accepted therapy that is saving and improving lives.
Here is a list of all the diseases that have been/are/will be treated with gene therapy:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23355455
These are trials in humans– this list doesnt include all of the therapies that are still in the tissue culture/animal model segments of the pipeline. Can anyone look at that list and not find something that has touched them directly, or through a loved one? I mean there are things on that list that I havent even heard of!
And guess how all of this technology is made possible?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23355455
66.8% of gene therapy trials utilize genetically modified viruses. We live in a time where scientists can domesticate a killer into a savior, and its utterly routine. How long will it take until the number of people saved every year, thanks to viruses, outnumbers the people killed?
I love the future 