“Study Gives Hope of Altering Genes to
Repel H.I.V.”
A pilot study was performed which
found that immune cells could be altered to possibly cure patients with H.I.V.,
and that this treatment is not harmful to the patients. A certain mutated gene for CCR5
has been known to cause the H.I.V. virus to disappear, and according to Dr.
Carl June, expert in AIDS at the University of Pennsylvania, “gene editing may
offer another way to achieve the same result.”
Gene editing is a treatment that can zero in on a particular gene of
interest and disable it, which could be revolutionary for treating diseases
such as H.I.V. The goal of gene editing
regarding H.I.V. is that “if enough cells could be engineered to repel the
virus, patients might no longer need antiviral drugs, and might in effect be
cured.” In this study, 12 H.I.V.
patients had a certain protein removed from their immune cells that the virus
must latch onto to invade the cells. In
order to do this, the cells had to be removed from the patients, treated and then
dripped back into their bloodstreams through an intravenous line. The cells in theory would then replicate with
this “mutation” and ultimately beat out the virus.
For people infected with H.I.V.,
this new treatment brings much hope. Other
treatments for the virus are antiviral drugs, but patients dislike the side
effects, and lifelong treatment using these drugs can cost $1 million in the
United States. Gene editing is worth
considering because it is much cheaper and more effective treatment. I think that this new treatment is a
revolutionary medical achievement and could really change the way that H.I.V.
affects a population. Many lives have
the potential to be saved with this treatment.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading
this article, and I thought that it presented a good explanation of the study
and why it should be considered. The article
included quotes from doctors expressing their views on the new treatment and
provided facts and evidence of the treatment’s success. I will be very interested to see if this new
treatment takes off, because I think that it could really change the medical
world significantly.
Grady,
Denise. "Study Gives Hope of Altering Genes to Repel H.I.V." The New
York Times. The New York Times, 05 Mar. 2014. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.
I read the article “Study Gives Hope of Altering Genes to Repel H.I.V.” by Blake Brashear. I liked this article because it easily describes the issue and the incredible advancements made in the the research and treatments towards HIV. She explained very intricate topics and complex terms well and wrote her article in a way that is easy for the writer. One thing I liked about this article was the how the treatment works and how this process takes place another aspect I enjoyed was how this possible treatment can make a tremendous outcome for the patients who currently have HIV. Lastly, I liked how she expressed her views on the topic and gave her perspective on how important it is to the world. If I had to give any recommendations I would say to compare the current treatments with the new one. to show how dramatic of a change (for the better) this new development can become. I would have also discussed more about how this affects people with and without HIV in the nation. One thing that caught my attention was how much the current medicine was for HIV and using it as a life long treatment can cost over 1 million dollars. Overall I was really impressed with this article and thought it was written well. This is a very interesting topic and gives the reader something to think about for the rest of the day.
ReplyDeleteI thought the article “Study Gives Hope of Altering Genes to Repel H.I.V.,” was thought provoking and scientifically interesting. Blake did an excellent job of reviewing such an interesting article and handled this review of this astounding issue quite well. This article was slightly complex and Blake did a great job of making this article sound exciting and interesting. I think Blake did a great job of simplifying the overall idea of the article to make the main concepts of the article stand out. That way I was able to get a pretty good feel for the article just from reading Blake’s review. Furthermore, Blake’s writing was clear and effective. She got to the heart of the article quite eloquently. Lastly, Blake’s connection of this article to the world today and what this discovery means for couples around the world made me question what science really means and got me thinking about how far science has come.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Blake’s review was great there are some things that she could improve on. For instance, Blake’s explanation of the baseline experiment was straightforward but it left me with questions and wanting more information. In addition, Blake could have used quotes from her article to give the review more depth. However, overall I felt that Blake’s writing and review of this article was excellent.
From this article I learned about a new study concerning the treatment of the HIV virus. This study not only talks about a treatment for HIV but also about a cure which is a huge breakthrough. Overall, I had a great time reading Blake’s article and her excellent review of that article!