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Diabetes 16+

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Gene therapy for diabetes

A potential future treatment for type 1 diabetes is gene therapy. Researchers have identified a faulty gene which means that people with the gene are more likely to develop diabetes. In the future, this gene could be replaced by a fully-working version of the gene. This could prevent people from getting diabetes in the first place or reverse the condition in people who have developed the condition.

In theory, gene therapy could be performed on embryos before they were implanted into the womb during in vitro fertilisation treatment.

What do you think about gene therapy?

  • What are the benefits and risks of developing gene therapy?
  • How would you feel if you had a genetic disorder that could not be treated in any other way?
  • How should research into gene therapy be regulated?

You can find out more about gene therapy in our resource on Genes and Inheritance.