Gene hunters nab the Huntington's defect; now tests can suggest not only if but when
Article Abstract:
Scientists have located the gene that causes Huntington's disease. Huntington's disease is a hereditary disorder characterized by progressive degeneration of the central nervous system. The gene was discovered by 58 scientists from the US and the UK who were part of the Huntington's Disease Collaborative Research Group. This gene is called the IT15 gene and is located on the short arm of chromosome 4. The IT15 gene encodes for a newly discovered protein which has been named huntingtin. Huntingtin is different from other proteins that have been described, and its function in the body is unknown. The genetic mutation that causes Huntington's disease is characterized by increased repetition of the CAG nucleotides. Individuals with Huntington's disease have between approximately 42 and 100 CAG repeats near the start of the IT15 gene, compared with 11 and 34 in normal individuals.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1993
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Gene therapy for brain tumors in trials, correction of inherited disorders a hope
Article Abstract:
Breakthroughs in gene therapy may be useful in treating patients with brain tumors and inherited diseases. Brain cells generally proved resistant to early gene transfer techniques because they do not proliferate, and systemic approaches to gene therapy did not work because of the blood/brain barrier. Eight patients with brain cancer have now been treated with a retroviral gene transfer technique that selectively kills tumor cells. Altered retroviruses are used to insert the gene for a herpes enzyme into dividing cells. Retroviruses only insert their genes into dividing cells, which makes them ideal for tumor therapies. The patients were then treated with the drug ganciclovir, which kills the herpes-infected cells. Similarly, scientists are searching for a virus that infects non-replicating cells in an effort to treat inherited diseases with gene transfer techniques.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1993
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
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