Gene Therapy Instead of Vaccines May Prove to be More Effective

 

 

A recent article in the NY Times presents a new approach to vaccination using a method referred to as  immunoprophylaxis by gene transfer or I.G.T.

 

I.G.T. is unlike modern vaccination methods which typically introduce a pathogen into a system hoping for an autoimmune response by creating antibodies. This method has not always proven to be effective, especially in the incidences of HIV, Malaria, and Ebola. I.G.T. offers hope to eradicate these illnesses by using a form of gene therapy. This method targets the isolated genes that produce the antibodies  and make synthesized genes from them, that are placed into viruses and injected into muscle tissues. The altered genes then produce antibodies for the target disease.
Recent studies in mice and monkeys supports this theory. This particular article refers to this process as V.I.P or vectored immunoprophalaxis.

In my opinion and based on the article and scientific experimentation reported, this seems to be a very promising course of treatment, which could completely eradicate many diseases that are unable to be effectively vaccinated.