Advancing Life: Biomedical Technology

When someone has type 1 diabetes, what they first wonder about is whether there is a cure With technological advancements, people are starting to wonder if gene therapy can cure type 1 diabetes But first, what is gene therapy?

Gene therapy is a medical field that focuses on genetically modifying human cells to prevent, treat, or cure particular diseases. This can happen by reconstructing or fixing damaged or defective genetic material in the body. But it can also occur by adding more features to the genetic material in the body This technology is not completely developed yet, as scientists are still working towards its further development What is type 1 diabetes, and how is it incorporated into gene therapy?

Type 1 diabetes or T1D, is a T-cellmediated autoimmune disease where the pancreatic cells in a person fail to produce insulin, causing the consumed glucose in the body (the primary source of energy in all living cells) not to enter cells and accumulate in the blood vessels The accumulation of glucose in the blood vessels causes high blood glucose levels, which can lead to many severe complications, such as hyperglycemia, diabetic ketoacidosis, and even psychiatric disorders such as retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, and cardiovascular disease As of right now, there is no prevention or definitive cure for type 1 diabetes However, the treatment for the disease can only treat the symptoms or prevent the complications of the disease from getting worse.

Gene therapy is tied to type 1 diabetes because the therapy can remodel the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of a person Although gene therapy is only in its early research phases of clinical trials to treat type 1 diabetes in the United States, it has the capability to treat and cure many more conditions and diseases beyond type 1 diabetes. These diseases include but are not limited to, cancer, AIDS, and heart disease. However, for type 1 diabetes, the procedure of gene therapy can be like reprogramming alternative cells and making them perform functions that the original insulin-producing beta cells had the responsibility of performing