21 October 2019 (Monday) - A Cure for Sickle Cell?


Here’s something interesting I read on Facebook. A cure for sickle cell disease? Being on Facebook I took it with a pinch of salt, but it would seem there is some truth in the matter. Bone marrow was removed from the patient; and gene therapy used to replace the beta globin gene with non-sickling ones.
This isn’t a new idea. I’m sure that I heard of this being attempted some thirty years ago, but the technique failed and the chap who performed the procedure went to prison. But I can’t find any reference to it…
I wonder how many other haemoglobinopathies will be cured in this way?

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