Scientists Correct Disease-Causing DNA Mutation Using Targeted Gene Therapy
In a small study, the errant gene was targeted by a single infusion, which returned the mutated gene to normal. Other science news is on double neural bypass to restore feeling to people with paralysis; hormone replacement therapy on the rise thanks to weight loss drugs; and more.
The New York Times:
Mutated DNA Restored To Normal In Gene Therapy Advance
Researchers have corrected a disease-causing gene mutation with a single infusion carrying a treatment that precisely targeted the errant gene. This was the first time a mutated gene has been restored to normal. The small study of nine patients announced Monday by the company Beam Therapeutics of Cambridge, Mass., involved fixing a spelling error involving the four base sequences — G, A, C and T — in DNA. (Kolata, 3/10)
In other health and wellness news —
NPR:
Scientists Are Engineering A Sense Of Touch For People Who Are Paralyzed
In 2014, engineering professor Chad Bouton got a lesson on the importance of touch. Bouton, an engineer at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research on Long Island, had developed a brain-computer interface that allowed a man living with paralysis to control one hand. (Hamilton, 3/10)
Axios:
Online GLP-1 Sales Fuel Hormone Replacement Therapy
The surge of online weight-loss drug providers is unexpectedly fueling demand for a much older, once-stigmatized treatment: hormone replacement therapy. Facing a dearth of providers for treating menopause symptoms including weight gain, women are looking for answers online and increasingly finding all-in-one hubs run by top telemedicine companies. (Reed, 3/11)
The Wall Street Journal:
Ozempic’s New Frontier: The War On Aging
For decades, scientists have been on the hunt for an antiaging drug. Now, some say we may have already found it. A fast-growing body of research signals potential health benefits of GLP-1s, the class of diabetes and weight-loss drugs known by names like Ozempic, beyond what they were initially approved to treat. That includes age-related conditions like Alzheimer’s, osteoarthritis, certain cancers and even mortality. (Janin, 3/10)
KFF Health News:
Your Neighbor Has Backyard Chickens. Should You Be Worried?
The latest outbreak of bird flu has upended egg, poultry, and dairy operations, sickened dozens of farmworkers, and killed at least one person in the U.S. Traditional methods to curb H5N1 have so far failed. While the virus isn’t known to be spreading between people, each new infection is a chance for it to evolve. That could set the stage for another pandemic. Scientists worry the United States isn’t doing enough to track and curb the virus. (Maxmen, 3/10)
