It may now be possible to create stem cells from a patients own body which contain their own DNA except for the the target mutation. Scientists have recently reprogrammed tissue cells, from patients with anaemia, into stem cells which include the patients DNA sans the mutations responsible for their condition. These resulting cells are then grown into blood precurser cells which are the type that are usually transplanted into patients with this type of anaemia. In this case however, they contain the patients DNA rather than the donors.Since these cells contain the patients own DNA, they can be introduced into their body without the risk of them being rejected by the body's immune system. In other words, the cells were identical to the patients original cells except that they didn't contain the genetic mutation responsible for the disease. Even though there still need to be a few more modifications to this process, it is a proof of concept, as well as being a significant breakthrough in the treatment of patients with genetic conditions.
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Original article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article6402006.ece
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