Gene therapy ashanti desilva

On September 14, 1990, Ashanti DeSilva became the first of only two participants in the world's first approved gene therapy trial. The experimental setup of the trial as well as the interpretation of the results have been subject to considerable criticism, but despite its flaws, this trial showed that gene therapy can be done.

The Bubble Boy

Most of us are familiar with the fate of David Vetter, the so-called bubble boy.

David suffered from the X-linked form of the severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID).

Ashanti desilva biography

The X-SCID variant is defined by mutations in the gene of the common gamma chain (γ_c) protein, which is part of various interleukin receptors. The consequent defects in interleukin signaling result in the near-complete absence of T and NK cells as well as the complete lack of B cell function. Thus being almost completely defenseless against any kind of infectious agent, David lived his entire life in a sterile plastic chamber without human touch.

He died at the age of twelv