Severe combined immunodeficiency was the first condition to be treated with gene therapy more than 20 years ago. A virus was used to replace a faulty gene with a healthy one. But in subsequent trials, four young patients were diagnosed with leukaemia two years after receiving a similar treatment. An 18-year-old also died following a reaction to a virus used in gene therapy for a liver condition. It was the start of a rocky road.
Gene therapy has come a long way since, and researchers seem to have found a safer way of manipulating our genes.
Read the full, original story here: ‘Bubble kid’ success puts gene therapy back on track
