Argumentative Essay On Alzheimer's Disease

There are over 6,000 discovered genetic disorders that have been passed from generation to generation over the centuries. Most of these disorders do not have a cure and leave many people to suffer. Research has been done with different techniques over the years. In the 1960’s, a new concept called gene therapy was introduced. This technique has proven to be successful as well as unsuccessful in many cases and trials, but as technology is increasing, it gives a new possibility for a cure for genetically inherited diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease.

Gene therapy is a provisional technique that is the insertion of normal genes into the cells where there is a missing or miscoded gene to fix a genetic disorder. In the 1960s and early 1970s,

this notion of gene therapy began. On September 14, 1990 a four-year-old girl and a nine-year-old girl with adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency became the first test subjects of this conception. ADA deficiency causes a person to lack the ability to fight off infections and results in a weak immune system. These girls were both inserted with their own corrected genes. Newborn babies with ADA deficiency were also given normal cells from their umbilical cords. Today, these girls and babies are leading normal lives with increases in ADA in their immune cells. Although this type of gene therapy proved successful, there are still obstacles facing this experimental procedure. The creation of a nanoinjector device has allowed the negatively charged DNA to stick to the positively charged microscopic needle and insert it into the cell. The needle is then negatively charged so the DNA will remain in the cell. This recent advance in technology has created more promise for the future of gene therapy.

Alzheimer’s is a genetic disease caused by the death of cells in the brain.

This disease causes memory loss, difficulty in thinking processes, mood swings, depression, hallucinations, personality changes, and the inability to create new memories. Alzheimer’s disease is most common in people who are at the age of sixty years or older, but it can start as early as the age of nineteen. It can be categorized as a type of dementia. “Scientists believe Alzheimer’s disease prevents parts of a cell’s factory from running well” (Alzheimer’s Disease: The basics). Scientist believe that one cause of Alzheimer’s could be caused by plaques and tangles. Plaques are the build up of a protein called beta-amyloid in the nerve cells. Tangles are twisted fibers of the tau protein that build up inside of a cell. The exact cause of Alzheimer’s has not yet been determined, but scientists have reason to believe that it is because these plaques and tangles are blocking the communication of cells in the nervous system. Another probable cause is a mutation on the chromosomal genes 21, 14, and 1. This is why it is believed to be a genetically inherited

disorder.

Gene therapy could possibly lead to a cure to genetically inherited disorders that scientists have been looking for.

Alzheimer’s can be caused by a mutation in the chromosomal genes 21,14, and 1. This mutation could be caused due to a mutation in a single gene. The only FDA approved therapies for Alzheimer’s disease deal with the function of the deteriorating neuron cells that affect a person physically and mentally. A clinical trial on gene therapy for Alzheimer’s disease was done and completed by 2009. In this trial, the target was to try and protect these neurons from deteriorating. This trial uncovered that a nerve growth factor (NGF) could be infused to the neurons to reverse the effects of symptoms like memory loss. Before the trial this gene therapy was don “In primate systems, [and] ex vivo NGF gene therapy has been demonstrated to sustain NGF protein production in the brain in the rhesus money for at least one year.” This has shown that gene therapy for Alzheimer’s could be promising and lead to a cure in this genetically inherited

disorder.

Although there have been many trial and errors in the study of gene therapy, advances in technology have led to more promising results. Gene therapy could be the cure to diseases that have, till this point, been incurable.