Transgenic skin received by Syrian refugee

A Syrian boy with a rare genetic disease has received an almost entirely new epidermal layer of skin from his own stem cells. This boy has a disease called Junctional epidermolysis bullosa  and has a mutated gene causing the basement membrane of the containing laminin 332 does not develop properly. so a group of scientists and pediatricians created Karatinocyte cultures from the boys stem cells , they used invivo and invitrio renewment of human epidermal cells, the boy will still have to live with the disease for the rest of his life and may also have issues with other systems in his body this disease is also known to affect the mucosa. besides the amazing accomplishment that this undergoing was, researchers were also able to end  a long standing discussion whether the epidermis was regenerated by many equally powerful progenitor cells or a fewer number of individual stem cells. The later of the two is true according to the researcher.

I believe any advancement in stem cell research is a good thing , the more we as a society can create new cells from a persons original cells is amazing and could help such a young child have anew lease on life from the cultivation of his own stem cells is remarkable.

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Gene Therapy Saves Lives

In recent news, an article posted on New Scientist explains a gene therapy procedure that saved the life of a young Syrian boy suffering from a severe skin condition. The gene therapy corrected a genetic mutation responsible for the painful and dangerous skin-blistering disease. The condition is known as Epidermolysis bullosa. The condition is extremely rare. It causes sores by the slightest bit of contact with skin. The life expectancy of people with the mutation is rather short lived because of the complications associated with the sores.
What could cause such a agonizing disease? Genetic mutations. The mutation of the gene forces the surface skin layer away from the underlying layer, resulting in the painful skin sores. Michele DeLuca, of the University of Modena, was able to use gene therapy to save a child that was suffering so severely. At the age of seven, the patient was admitted to a hospital due to an infection that resulted in loss of most of his skin. DeLuca, with help from a team of experts, removed a patch of skin from the patient and genetically modified the cells which provided a correction of the mutation. "They then grew the cells into sheets of skin, which were grafted onto the boy’s body, covering around 80 per cent of him" (Nature, DOI: 10.1038/nature24487). Now, at the age of nine, the boy is able to carry on with a normal and healthy life.
I think this is an absolutely amazing find. This poor young boy was living his life in such pain and misery. To have a small portion of skin genetically modified, resulting in a corrected genetic mutation is ground breaking in my eyes. Science is advancing so quickly, more and more cures for diseases are bound to surface eventually. It's so exciting to see what medicine of the future has in store for the world.

Medical Records Show There's a Genetic Link to Skin Cancer

Researchers found a new way to identify genetic problems in humans using medical records. One discovery that stood out was skin disease. The team of researchers compared the patients conditions to their gene variants in their data. Instead of going through the genetic basis they identify by genetic associations of different diseases. Looking at the genetic association could lead to understanding how single genes can affect multiple characteristics and condition of skin cancer. The study started off small with 13,000 electronic medical records, but in the future they hope to use a larger data set. 

This is less expensive, more affordable, and a more subtle research. This is a good idea for those reasons and also it will take less time to identify problems.