Gene Therapy for Asthma

With advances in technology and medicine, new approaches to treating disease are constantly being experimented with. One of these techniques that may seem like something out of a science fiction novel is gene therapy. Though still experimental, the idea of gene therapy is being used to treat a variety of chronic conditions that may not be cured by other, more conventional treatments such as asthma.

• Gene therapy may prove beneficial to those with asthma.

Asthma

• Asthma is defined as a chronic respiratory disease that usually arises from a person being allergic to something. When a person has an asthma attack, it usually manifests as labored breathing, chest constriction and coughing. This is because their airways are becoming inflamed and swell up, making breathing difficult or sometimes impossible.

Gene Therapy

• Gene therapy is usually defined as the direct use of genetic material to treat a disease. Usually this involves inserting a functional gene into cells that are important to the condition that's trying to be cured. The goal is for that inserted DNA to replace or mitigate the DNA that is causing the condition. Since genes are the blueprint for the person, and since many diseases and disorders are caused by genes, correcting the gene can correct the disorder it's causing.

Experiments

• At the moment, gene therapy for asthma is still in the experimental stages. There have been tests conducted on mice, however, that are showing promise for future treatments for asthma. In these experiments, an injection called an Il-4 mutant antagonist was used. This antagonist binds itself to the DNA, and in effect takes the seat of the DNA that was causing inflammation of the airways. If perfected, this treatment will be used as an inoculation.

Difficulties

• While it holds great promise, gene therapy treatments are still mostly experimental. There are a great many difficulties that have to be overcome, and a lot of specific knowledge that has to be found. Some problems that have been encountered with asthma and other treatments include finding the proper gene that's responsible for the condition; getting the new genetic material to be accepted; and getting the genetic material across the blood/brain barrier.

Risks

• There is some risk for those who are undergoing experimental gene therapy treatments. There is a chance that the genes that are put into their body won't be accepted or that they could set off an unexpected reaction. Though the treatments are normally safe and short term, there have been a small number of fatalities in experiments for gene therapy in general, though none have been reported for asthma treatments.