Cystic Fibrosis and Gene Therapy

Genes, which are carried on chromosomes, are the basic physical and functional units of heredity. The amount of information geneticists have discovered about genes in the last 20 years is staggering. It was only in 1973 that the first recombinant DNA methods were successfully used. Since then development of techniques that allow geneticists to locate the position of genes has led to a greater understanding of the causes of genetic disorders. Now scientists are able to consider treating people with genetic disorders by introducing normal genes into body cells. Gene therapy has been successfully used in a few cases and many more genetic disorders are currently being investigated. The future looks promising.
The aim of this report is to examine Cystic Fibrosis as a genetic disorder, how it affects the lives of those born with it and to investigate gene therapies associated with it. This report also investigates the ethical issues and recent developments in gene therapy as well as the factors that have kept it from becoming an effective treatment for genetic disorders.
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