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Gene therapy is a medical technology that aims to produce a therapeutic effect through the manipulation of gene expression or through altering the biological properties of living cells.
Haemophilia, or hemophilia, is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots, a process needed to stop bleeding. This results in people bleeding for a longer time after an injury, easy bruising, and an increased risk of bleeding inside joints or the brain. Those with a mild case of the disease may have symptoms only after an accident or during surgery. Bleeding into a joint can result in permanent damage while bleeding in the brain can result in long term headaches, seizures, or a decreased level of consciousness.
The retina is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then processes that image within the retina and sends nerve impulses along the optic nerve to the visual cortex to create visual perception. The retina serves a function which is in many ways analogous to that of the film or image sensor in a camera.
Haemophilia B, also spelled hemophilia B, is a blood clotting disorder causing easy bruising and bleeding due to an inherited mutation of the gene for factor IX, and resulting in a deficiency of factor IX. It is less common than factor VIII deficiency.
The spread of HIV/AIDS has affected millions of people worldwide; AIDS is considered a pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that in 2016 there were 36.7 million people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS, with 1.8 million new HIV infections per year and 1 million deaths due to AIDS. Misconceptions about HIV and AIDS arise from several different sources, from simple ignorance and misunderstandings about scientific knowledge regarding HIV infections and the cause of AIDS to misinformation propagated by individuals and groups with ideological stances that deny a causative relationship between HIV infection and the development of AIDS. Below is a list and explanations of some common misconceptions and their rebuttals.
Monocytes are a type of leukocyte or white blood cell. They are the largest type of leukocyte in blood and can differentiate into macrophages and monocyte-derived dendritic cells. As a part of the vertebrate innate immune system monocytes also influence adaptive immune responses and exert tissue repair functions. There are at least three subclasses of monocytes in human blood based on their phenotypic receptors.
Castlemandisease (CD) describes a group of rare lymphoproliferative disorders that involve enlarged lymph nodes, and a broad range of inflammatory symptoms and laboratory abnormalities. Whether Castleman disease should be considered an autoimmune disease, cancer, or infectious disease is currently unknown.
Factor VIII (FVIII) is an essential blood-clotting protein, also known as anti-hemophilic factor (AHF). In humans, factor VIII is encoded by the F8 gene. Defects in this gene result in hemophilia A, an X-linked coagulation disorder. Factor VIII is produced in the liver’s sinusoidal cells and endothelial cells outside the liver throughout the body. This protein circulates in the bloodstream in an inactive form, bound to another molecule called von Willebrand factor, until an injury that damages blood vessels occurs. In response to injury, coagulation factor VIII is activated and separates from von Willebrand factor. The active protein interacts with another coagulation factor called factor IX. This interaction sets off a chain of additional chemical reactions that form a blood clot.
Coagulation factor VII is one of the proteins that causes blood to clot in the coagulation cascade, and in humans is coded for by the gene F7. It is an enzyme of the serine protease class. Once bound to tissue factor released from damaged tissues, it is converted to factor VIIa, which in turn activates factor IX and factor X.
Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) are small viruses that infect humans and some other primate species. They belong to the genus Dependoparvovirus, which in turn belongs to the family Parvoviridae. They are small replication-defective, nonenveloped viruses and have linear single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) genome of approximately 4.8 kilobases (kb).
Factor VIII is a medication used to treat and prevent bleeding in people with hemophilia A and other causes of low factor VIII. Certain preparations may also be used in those with von Willebrand's disease. It is given by slow injection into a vein.
Katherine A. High is an American doctor-scientist who is an emeritus professor at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She was the co-founder, president, and chief scientific officer of Spark Therapeutics and currently serves as President of Therapeutics at AskBio. Her career has focused on pioneering work in the area of gene therapy, with many accomplishments in basic, translational, and clinical investigation in gene therapy.
Spark Therapeutics, Inc. is a developer of gene therapy treatments, which treat debilitating genetic diseases. It is a subsidiary of Hoffmann-La Roche.
Non-surgical fertility control is the prevention of reproduction without the use of surgery. The most common form of sterilization in dogs and cats is surgical, spaying in females and castration in males. Non-surgical fertility control can either result in sterilization or temporary contraception and could offer a cheaper way to keep wild dog and cat populations under control. As of 2019, only contraceptives are commercially available. Research is ongoing into methods that could result in permanent suppression of fertility.
Jean Bennett is the F. M. Kirby Professor of Ophthalmology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on gene therapy for retinal diseases. Her laboratory developed the first FDA approved gene therapy for use in humans, which treats a rare form of blindness. She was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2022.
Valoctocogene roxaparvovec, sold under the brand name Roctavian, is a gene therapy used for the treatment of hemophilia A. It was developed by BioMarin Pharmaceutical. Valoctocogene roxaparvovec is made of a virus (AAV5) that has been modified to contain the gene for factor VIII, which is lacking in people with hemophilia A. It is an adeno-associated virus vector-based gene therapy. It is given by intravenous infusion.
Adele Kay Fielding is a British physician-scientist who is a Professor of Haematology at University College London. Fielding was President of the British Society for Haematology from 2020 until 2022.
Stephan A. Mayer is an American neurologist and critical care physician who currently serves as Director of Neurocritical Care and Emergency Neurology Services for the Westchester Medical Center Health System. Mayer is most noted for his research in subarachnoid and intracerebral hemorrhage, acute ischemic stroke, cardiac arrest, coma, status epilepticus, brain multimodality monitoring, therapeutic temperature modulation, and outcomes after severe brain injury. He has gained media attention for popularizing the concept that physicians have historically underestimated the brain’s resilience and capacity for recovery. He has authored over 400 original research publications, 200 chapters and review articles, and 370 abstracts.
Marie Claire McLintock was a New Zealand haematologist and obstetric physician. She was an expert in medical conditions and disorders related to bleeding and blood clotting, and medical problems associated with pregnancy.
Fidanacogene elaparvovec, sold under the brand name Beqvez, is a gene therapy delivered via adeno-associated virus used for the treatment of Hemophilia B.
References
- ↑ "Roche loses spark for gene therapy, axing hemophilia A candidate from pipeline" . Retrieved 8 December 2023.
- ↑ Mannucci, Pier Mannuccio (March 2023). "Hemophilia treatment innovation: 50 years of progress and more to come". Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. 21 (3): 403–412. doi: 10.1016/j.jtha.2022.12.029 . PMID 36858789. S2CID 257276049.
- ↑ Croteau, Stacy E.; Eyster, M. Elaine; Tran, Huyen; Ragni, Margaret V.; Samelson-Jones, Benjamin J.; George, Lindsey; Sullivan, Spencer; Rasko, John E.J.; Moormeier, Jill; Angchaisuksiri, Pantep; Teitel, Jerome; Kenet, Gili; Wynn, Tung; Jaworski, Kristen; Macdougall, Amy; Jaeger, Savina; Trivedi, Trupti; Mingozzi, Federico; Chang, Tiffany; Levy, Gallia (15 November 2022). "Long-Term Durable FVIII Expression with Improvements in Bleeding Rates Following AAV-Mediated FVIII Gene Transfer for Hemophilia A: Multiyear Follow-up on the Phase I/II Trial of SPK-8011". Blood. 140 (Supplement 1): 1899–1901. doi: 10.1182/blood-2022-158903 .
- ↑ Elkouby, Liron; Armour, Sean M.; Toso, Raffaella; DiPietro, Marti; Davidson, Robert J.; Nguyen, Giang N.; Willet, Mallory; Kutza, Stephanie; Silverberg, Joseph; Frick, Jennifer; Crosariol, Marco; Wang, Yuhuan; Wang, Chuansong; High, Katherine A.; Sabatino, Denise E.; Anguela, Xavier M. (March 2022). "Preclinical assessment of an optimized AAV-FVIII vector in mice and non-human primates for the treatment of hemophilia A". Molecular Therapy - Methods & Clinical Development. 24: 20–29. doi: 10.1016/j.omtm.2021.11.005 . PMC 8666598 .
- ↑ High, Katherine A.; George, Lindsey A.; Eyster, M. Elaine; Sullivan, Spencer K.; Ragni, Margaret V.; Croteau, Stacy E.; Samelson-Jones, Ben J.; Evans, Matthew; Joseney-Antoine, Marcelyne; Macdougall, Amy; Kadosh, Judith; Runoski, Alexa R.; Campbell-Baird, Cynthia; Douglas, Kayla; Tompkins, Summer; Hait, Howard; Couto, Linda B.; Bassiri, Ashlyn Eaton; Valentino, Leonard A.; Carr, Marcus E.; Hui, Daniel J; Wachtel, Katie; Takefman, Daniel; Mingozzi, Federico; Anguela, Xavier M.; Reape, Kathleen B (29 November 2018). "A Phase 1/2 Trial of Investigational Spk-8011 in Hemophilia a Demonstrates Durable Expression and Prevention of Bleeds". Blood. 132 (Supplement 1): 487. doi:10.1182/blood-2018-99-115495. S2CID 81439244.
- ↑ Evans, Matthew S.; Rybka, Witold B.; Croteau, Stacy E.; Tran, Huyen; Rasko, John E.J.; Jaworski, Kristen; MacDougall, Amy; Jaeger, Savina; Mingozzi, Federico; Chang, Tiffany; Levy, Gallia (15 November 2022). "The Effects of Immunomodulation with Corticosteroids to Manage an AAV Capsid Immune response in the Phase I/II Study of SPK-8011". Blood. 140 (Supplement 1): 10654–10655. doi: 10.1182/blood-2022-159017 .