The use of biotechnology to understand the genetic make up of humans, plants, and animals, is providing us with opportunities to develop new, more effective medicines for many diseases. It is estimated that millions of people around the world are benefiting from advances in genetic engineering that have led to the development of medicines for a range of human  ailments such as diabetes, cancers, anaemia, malaria, and dengue. In this research, too, lies hope for discovering a cure for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases; asthma and other respiratory diseases; and for HIV – the virus that leads to AIDS, which is decimating large numbers of the world’s population.

By studying human genes, scientists are developing a better understanding of what happens in genes that leads to inherited and other diseases. By studying the genetics of viruses, fungi or bacteria, we can understand how they cause diseases and develop better drugs and antibiotics. This has paved the way to developing treatments for the genetic causes, rather than the symptoms of such diseases.

Gene Medicines

Organisms can be genetically modified to produce medically useful products, such as antibiotics, in large quantities safely and cheaply. In addition to antibiotics, other therapeutics are produced by genetically modified organisms, for instance, genetically modified micro-organisms containing the gene for insulin are being used to produce large quantities of the substance for diabetic patients. Proteins that produce an agent for blood clotting are being used to help patients with haemophilia and anaemia.

Gene-generated vaccines

Genetically modified plants are now being used to produce vaccines for a variety of human and animal diseases. This has been especially successful in treating strains of malaria that have grown resistant to traditional drugs and that have been spread by parasites that have become resistant to currently used insecticides. The technology is also proving useful in helping to develop vaccines and drugs to treat organ transplant patients.

 

Bio Med Scene		AIDS and HIV		Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s
Recent advances in biotechnology have produced more than 200 medicines and vaccines for cancer, asthmas, and infectious diseases including diseases of the immune system.		A medicine in the pipeline is the first in a new class of drugs to treat HIV/AIDS. Unlike existing HIV drugs that work inside the cell, the new medicine, known as a "fusion inhibitor," is designed to stop the virus from ever entering the cell. In lab tests, patients on this drug combined with other medicines were twice as likely to reduce the levels of HIV in their blood as patients who did not receive the drug.		New medicines are being developed which promise to improve the success rate of reducing the symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.

Stem cells

Biomedical technicians believe they can replace diseased cells with specially modified cells needed for the functioning of specific organs. Use of these cells in research to find cures for human ailments is at the heart of one of the most controversial issues in biotechnology. Cells - referred to as stem cells - that are unspecialised, can develop into the specialized cell-type of any organ into which they are implanted. Such cells can be modified before implantation, by insertion of the gene that would correct the abnormality caused by its defective counterpart. One source of stem cells is the human embryo. The concern of many is whether harvesting of such cells involves an unethical interference with human life. However, the potential of the method to help the body generate new cells and repair diseased organs to cure such diseases as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s is recognized and scientists believe unethical practices can be avoided once systems are in place to ensure that the use of the technology occurs under carefully controlled conditions and regulations.

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