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Super Strength Substance Approaching Human Trials
kkleiner writes "You may remember Liam Hoekstra, the baby apparently born without the myostatin gene, and consequently sporting 40% more skeletal muscle than his peers. Using gene therapy, NCH scientists have been able to get follistatin (a myostatin blocker) to promote phenomenal muscle growth in macaque monkeys. NCH is now working with the FDA to perform the preliminary steps necessary for a human clinical trial. Is this the prelude to a super-strength gene therapy for all of us?"
I wouldn't call the average American "highly-intelligent".
"Blobs" on the other hand...
Joking aside, this will most likely not be widely available to "regular people" even if it proves to be practically harmless, if it does end up available to healthy people it will be as a $2,000 per shot "treatment" aimed at the plastic surgery crowd.
This seems to be the faith of every "wonder drug" out there, can't have regular people using something like this cheaply and easily (as in, if it ends up being inexpensive it will instead require three doctors to sign off on you have muscle dystrophy or something like that, if it ends up being expensive then it will be more readily available but only to those who have no problem blowing ten grand on it).
/Mikael
Greylisting is to SMTP as NAT is to IPv4
And in other parts of the world which have health services based on the common good, not capitalism and greed, this treatment will be available as an elective free procedure, with a waiting list.