Who was the first patient who was given gene therapy? Why was the given treatment recurrent in nature?
A four-year-old girl was the first patient to be given gene therapy. She was suffering from adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency, and this therapy was given in 1990. The treatment with gene therapy involves manipulating the DNA of lymphocytes from the patient’s body.
The modified lymphocytes are grown in vitro and then infused into the patient’s body. We know that lymphocytes are not immortal, but they have a definite life span. Due to this, this treatment is recurrent in nature.