1. As far as officials know, Gelsinger was the first person to die as a direct result of participating in a gene therapy experiment. 2. A young volunteer died in a gene therapy experiment using viruses in Pennsylvania last year, and there have been several other adverse reactions to viruses. 3. After that incident, members of a committee at the National Institutes of Health found that scientists were not routinely reporting problems with gene therapy experiments. 4. But last year researchers reported that gene therapy experiments had failed to turn back cases of cystic fibrosis and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. 5. Crystal was criticized for asking the panel not to disclose that a heart disease patient had died of an underlying illness during a gene therapy experiment. 6. Gene therapy experiments are among the hottest in medicine, and the number is rising. 7. In gene therapy experiments, scientists are trying to use DNA to correct a wide variety of inherited disorders, as well as cancer and heart diseases. 8. In the months since, there have been other reports of lapses in gene therapy experiments. 9. Most gene therapy experiments are still being conducted in animals, and those being tested in people are producing mixed results. 10. Most gene therapy experiments have used viruses to carry new genes into the body, a method that has sometimes caused inflammations and other immune reactions. |