• Question: What is the most effective cure for diseases that are transferred genetically?

    Asked by zakibest231 to Anna on 7 Mar 2014.
    • Photo: Anna Middleton

      Anna Middleton answered on 7 Mar 2014:


      Hi zakibest231
      I guess the best way to guarentee that something wasn’t passed on in a family is to either not have children or have a test in pregnancy and end the pregnancy if the disease is detected in the baby. This is a very hard decision for parents to make and one that isn’t made lightly. Another way is to have pre-implantation genetic diagnosis where the mother has her embryos tested and those that have the right genes are implanted and those that don’t are discarded. In the future we are hoping that gene therapy will be effective at treating people who actually have genetic disorders, but the research findings on this have been mixed and there is a long way to go with this work before it will be rolled out on a large scale.

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