What are the uses of gene therapy?

All living things have genes Genes are units within DNA that give the organism instructions for the proteins that need to be manipulated Genes also determine the genetic characteristics of generations Gene therapy is a medical process that involves genes being added to individual cells, genes being changed or removed, etc The most common uses of gene therapy include treating diseases and viruses that cause serious health complications Gene therapy, which only affects specific individuals, is called "somatic" gene therapy Gene therapy used to influence the next generation of an individual is called "germline" gene therapy Both treatments are strictly controlled in many countries and are usually limited to research However, supporters of gene therapy believe that the application of gene therapy is almost unlimited One of the most common uses of gene therapy is to introduce healthy genes into cells in an organism that are responsible for disease or other health complications A common method of this gene therapy is to use the virus to transmit healthy genes to the whole subject Viruses can spread their genes in the cells of an organism Gene therapists implant healthy genes into the virus, allowing the virus to spread healthy genes throughout the affected organism The virus used for this treatment is called a vector Another common use of gene therapy is to prevent genetic transmission of congenital defects and genetic diseases In these methods, sperm or eggs in an individual are modified by injection of DNA Due to the ethical issues involved, many countries have set restrictions on this gene therapy Although there are many studies and experiments on gene therapy for diseases, it is not commonly used in most health centers The more common experimental gene therapy includes the treatment of heart disease and AIDS The treatment is also used to enhance the cell's ability to destroy cancer cells, and even to cause them to become normal or healthy cells In many cases, gene therapy is used to treat bacterial and viral genes as vaccines.