Genes and Gene Therapy: MedlinePlus
- ️@medlineplus
- ️Wed Apr 11 2001
On this page
See, Play and Learn
- No links available
Summary
Genes are the building blocks of inheritance. Passed from parent to child, they contain instructions for making proteins. If genes don't produce the right proteins or don't produce them correctly, a child can have a genetic disorder.
Gene therapy is an experimental technique that uses genes to treat or prevent disease. The most common form of gene therapy involves inserting a normal gene to replace an abnormal gene. Other approaches include:
- Swapping an abnormal gene for a normal one
- Repairing an abnormal gene
- Altering the degree to which a gene is turned on or off
Although there is much hope for gene therapy, it is still experimental.
Start Here
- Gene Therapy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Genetics Basics: Six Things You Should Know (American Society of Human Genetics)
- How Gene Therapy Can Cure or Treat Diseases (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
-
What Are Genetic Therapies?
(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
Also in Spanish
- Disease Treatments (American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy)
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Gene Therapy
(National Institutes of Health)
- All about Genetics (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Gene Changes (Mutations) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- What Is a Gene? (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish