gene therapy

noun

Medicine/Medical.

the application of genetic engineering to the transplantation of genes into human cells in order to cure a disease caused by a genetic defect, as a missing enzyme.

gene therapy

noun

the replacement or alteration of defective genes in order to prevent the occurrence of such inherited diseases as haemophilia. Effected by genetic engineering techniques, it is still at the experimental stage

gene therapy

The treatment of a disorder or disease, especially one caused by the inheritance of a defective gene, by replacing defective genes with healthy ones through genetic engineering.

gene therapy

A promising technology that involves replacing a defective gene in the body with a healthy one. This can be done by removing cells from the body, using genetic engineering techniques to change defective sequences in the DNA, and then reinserting the cells. This technique has been carried out successfully, for example, on bone marrow cells, in which defective cells were successfully replaced with healthy, genetically engineered cells. Scientists hope to find an agent, such as a therapeutic virus , that will be able to correct defective DNA in situ . ( See cloning vector .)

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Word History and Origins

Origin of gene therapy¹

First recorded in 1970–75

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The £2.8m treatment is a gene therapy that can halt the progress of MLD and allow a child to go on to live a full and healthy life, but only if it is used before the child is symptomatic.

From

An experimental trial of gene therapy has helped four toddlers - born with one of the most severe forms of childhood blindness - gain "life-changing improvements" to their sight, according to doctors at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.

From

Gene therapy for another form of genetic blindness has been available on the NHS since 2020.

From

Jace, from Conneticut in the United States, had the gene therapy in London when he was just two years old.

From

A Record Price: The gene therapy Zolgensma helped children born with a fatal disease, spinal muscular atrophy, grow up to run and play.

From

genet genethliac

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