Question

What is gene therapy? Name the first clinical case where it was used?

Answer 1

The medical technique used for the treatment of genetic and congenital diseases is known as gene therapy. With the help of this technique, the non-functional gene responsible for a particular defect can be replaced by functional. Gene therapy was first used in the treatment of a four-year-old girl suffering from adenosine deaminase deficiency. With this technique, genes can be introduced into the body of a person to treat diseases. Gene therapy is of two types- germ line therapy in which genes are introduced into reproductive cells and somatic gene therapy in which genes are introduced into body cells and tissues to produce a natural protein lacking in that patient.