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In First, Doctors Treat Rare Genetic Disorder With an Injection In Utero (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Three babies with a rare genetic disorder have been spared the worst effects of their condition thanks to an experimental injection they received in utero, researchers report this week in The New England Journal of Medicine. The success marks the first time a genetic disorder has been partially reversed by such a treatment prior to birth. The in utero injections treated a rare, recessive genetic condition called X-linked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (XLHED), which affects the development of skin, hair, nails, and teeth. People with the disorder have sparse body and head hair, dry eyes, mouths, and airways, and few teeth, which are usually pointy. But most dangerously, the condition also disrupts development of sweat glands throughout the body. People with XLHED have fewer sweat glands and/or poorly functioning ones. This leaves individuals vulnerable to high fevers and over-heating (hyperthermia), which can be life-threatening and lead to medical complications.
For the new experimental treatment, the researchers realized that it all came down to timing. Humans develop sweat glands much earlier in their development, generally between the 20th and 30th week of pregnancy. To prevent XLHED from wreaking havoc, the researchers needed to deliver the protein prior to birth. After testing the idea for safety and efficacy in mice and monkeys, doctors in Germany got a compassionate-use approval to try it in a 38-year-old pregnant woman. She had a family history of XLHED, a young son with the condition, and was found to be carrying twin boys with it, too. [...] The researchers will track the babies' development to see if the effects are permanent, but data from animals suggests that they will be.
For the new experimental treatment, the researchers realized that it all came down to timing. Humans develop sweat glands much earlier in their development, generally between the 20th and 30th week of pregnancy. To prevent XLHED from wreaking havoc, the researchers needed to deliver the protein prior to birth. After testing the idea for safety and efficacy in mice and monkeys, doctors in Germany got a compassionate-use approval to try it in a 38-year-old pregnant woman. She had a family history of XLHED, a young son with the condition, and was found to be carrying twin boys with it, too. [...] The researchers will track the babies' development to see if the effects are permanent, but data from animals suggests that they will be.
I'm a vegan cannibal, so I'm not sure how to feel about this. Hopefully it goes well!
Yay for doctors being able to spare child #2 and #3 from the worst effects of this horrible condition (they'll still have it).
But one must ask: wouldn't it have been more considerate of the parents to not conceive these children? One might consider tubal ligation (especially since the mother has the condition, we didn't hear about the father), vasectomy, an IUD, or any of the many safe and effective methods of birth control.
You know who I am. Posting anonymously to avoid nastiness.
Defective people are not "encouraged" to breed, they are just not prohibited from doing so. The reason is that governments powerful and coercive enough to impose reproductive mandates tend to do plenty of other nasty things. It isn't worth it. Freedom doesn't lead to perfection, but it is better than the alternatives.
Anyway, now that we can edit-out the defects (and soon edit-in some upgrades), it doesn't matter as much who breeds.
"Anyway, now that we can edit-out the defects" yes like dark hair and eyes /duck
Go watch GATTACA, or the Star Trek episodes that talk about Eugenics Wars, specifically Doctor Bashir, I Presume IIRC.
The danger is that it might become a slippery slope:
1. Only the rich will be able to afford,
2. It could lead to reverse discrimination and job profiling,
i.e. I'm sorry, your Johnny wasn't born with _X_, he isn't allowed to do _Y_
3. Loss of genetic diversity.
Show me ANY tech that man hasn't abused the fuck out? And while that isn't reason enough we need to proceed with caution instead a naive "full steam ahead".
Go read Eugenics for more details.
She had a family history of XLHED, a young son with the condition, and was found to be carrying twin boys with it, too.
I think it's terrible that despite having a life's worth of warning about the outcome that the parents decided to go ahead and burden children with their own genetic shortcomings. There are orphans that need adopting but despite that they decided to pass on their problems to an entirely new generation. The selfishness of humans really just blows my mind.
I'm all for science but I can't help but scorn people who insist on having their own children while knowing the price their progeny will have to pay.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
We are all genetically defective in one way or another. Problems usually only arise when two people with the same defects decide to have kids which is why we have laws against incest. With this one limitation self-selection of a mate works well - after all, it's how humans and all other species evolved.
It really pisses me off the degree to which we seem to have forgotten World War II and are repeating all of its mistakes.
The main problem is who decides that your personal trait is bad for society. Is it "genetic jewishness"? Does ADHD count? There goes Einstein, and probably me too. Color blindness? Me again. Dispraxia? Maybe me. Cancer? Me again.
This does not, however, exempt you from personal responsibility regarding who you bring into the world. Conception is a choice.
Bruce Perens.
I mean, we now go often to heroic measures and efforts to save problem kids that would not have been born a couple decades ago.
Sure it works out some, but I fear that by doing this so much on children that are SO damaged genetically, that we are interfering with natural selection that would basically cull this out of the gene pool in the past, but now.....we're keeping bad genes in the pool, potentially to the detriment of humans.
How do we fix it? I dunno....but just occurs to me that of late, we're really going out of our way to block natural selection.....with those that are born due to heroic measure...or even those who are born naturally ok...but we protect them from their own stupidity, which would have selected themselves out of the gene pool if allowed to do so.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
I like dark hair and dark eyes. :D
The darker, the better
The only thing beating that would be a good red hair with green eyes, very hard to come by though.
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
But I have definite plans this fine Friday night to make an in utero injection or two.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
And people want babies, not children. Babies, especially ones of the right color, are actually hard to come by. What's _not_ hard to come by are kids ages 6 and up who come from broken homes. Most of the time they end up in phoney foster care homes that are really small scale orphanages (know people making a good living running these). Nobody wants them because they're full of problems from the rough upbringing and, well, they're not cute babies. It's a screwed up situation all around.
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I like dark hair and dark eyes. :D
The darker, the better
So do plenty of other people. Statistics from on-line dating sites show that Asian women get the most responses. Some gentlemen prefer blondes, but many do not.
How do we fix it?
Here is how we fix it: CRISPR/Cas9
Any problem cause by technology can be fixed with MORE TECHNOLOGY.
Editing, that's the dangerous part, but let's keep everyone breeding because the randomness of DNA is important. Mutant's in any way, shape or form are good for humans.
Sidenote: I wonder if people who don't do vaccinations ( I think they are called anti-vaccer's ) would accept this. While not the same it seems kinda similar on the real big scale ( no the micro scale of course )
if you see me, smile and say hello.
I wonder if it will lead to a Logans Run type world
if you see me, smile and say hello.
At 20 weeks in the US, you can legally kill a baby in the womb OR perform life-saving surgery on them. How that makes any sense whatsoever is beyond me.
"We receive as friendly that which agrees with, we resist with dislike that which opposes us" - Faraday
At 20 weeks in the US, you can legally kill a baby in the womb OR perform life-saving surgery on them. How that makes any sense whatsoever is beyond me.
Beyond me too.