The treatment that turns bad fat into good fat: what is gene therapy?

Recently, researchers at Washington State University have developed an amazing genetic therapy that promises to turn “bad” fat into “good” fat. This treatment uses an inactive virus to deliver copies of the fat-1 gene to cells. This gene has the ability to convert Omega-6 fatty acids, which are common in modern foods and are associated with inflammation, into Omega-3 fatty acids, which are known for their anti-inflammatory properties .

Effects on health

The initial results of gene therapy, published in the Journal of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (PNAS), show promise. Tested on mice, the remedy has shown to be able to counteract the negative effects of an unbalanced diet, thus helping to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and arthritis. . In addition, this therapy has been shown to reduce premature cellular aging, an important component of overall health.

Prospects and the future of new treatments

For now, the treatment has only been tested on animals, but it is a solution for new obesity treatments, especially for children. Professor Farshid Guilak, the coordinator of the study, emphasizes the importance of the balance between Omega-6 and Omega-3 to maintain health. By changing this ratio in the body, gene therapy has the potential to provide a long-term solution for weight management and prevention of obesity-related problems.

Challenges and opportunities

Bringing such a therapy to market will require extensive clinical trials and regulatory approval. In addition, there will be challenges related to the costs of the treatment and its accessibility to the general population. However, the success of this medicine could revolutionize the treatment of obesity and related metabolic diseases, offering new hope to the millions of people affected worldwide.

Revolution in the fight against obesity

The anti-obesity gene therapy developed by American researchers could represent a real paradigm shift in modern medicine, with the ability to treat not only the symptoms , but also the deep causes of obesity. We look forward to the results of future studies and hope that these discoveries can soon be applied for the benefit of humanity.

And something about gene therapy

Gene therapy is an advanced treatment method that changes the genetic material of cells to prevent or treat disease. This method uses genetic vectors (usually modified viruses that can no longer cause disease) to deliver modified genes or new genes into the patient’s cells, with the aim of correcting or replacing faulty genes or make the cells able to fight disease.

Gene therapy has a wide range of potential applications:

1. Genetic diseases: Many diseases, such as cystic fibrosis or muscular dystrophy, are caused by faulty genes. Gene therapy can be used to replace faulty genes with healthy genes.
2. Cancer: Gene therapy is used to modify the patient’s immune system cells to help them recognize and destroy cancer cells. One example is CAR-T therapy, where the patient’s T cells are modified to attack cancer cells.
3. Infectious diseases: Gene therapy can be used to create genetically modified immune cells that are resistant to diseases such as HIV.
4. Cardiovascular diseases: The possibility of using gene therapy to treat certain heart diseases, by improving heart function or by stimulating the formation of new blood vessels, is being investigated.

Although promising, gene therapy it also raises some challenges and risks, such as adverse immune reactions, problems related to the control of the expression of the introduced genes, or the possibility of inserting new genes into the genome to uncontrolled, which can cause other genetic problems. An investigation is ongoing to overcome these obstacles and make gene therapies safer and more effective.