User:Cgarutti/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
(Provide a link to the article here.)

Gene therapy

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
(Briefly explain why you chose it, why it matters, and what your preliminary impression of it was.)

I am interested in this topic because Gene Therapy wasn't a widely used medical treatment or exercise when I was diagnosed with Glaucoma in the 90's. However, today's scientific advancements looks at gene therapy as a potential treatment for Glaucoma patients. For example, the gene mutation linked to the onset of Congenital Glaucoma is the CYP1B1 gene, with using gene therapy, the goal is to tract the CYP1B1 gene and alter or repair it at the source in order to fix the Glaucoma causing mutation.

Upon pulling the article up, I immediately noted the extensive amount of information that was provided throughout the course of the writing. One thing that stuck out to me immediately was that the reference section is extremely extensive, this aids in assuring that the information provided is accurate and dependable.

Evaluate the article
(Compose a detailed evaluation of the article here, considering each of the key aspects listed above. Consider the guiding questions, and check out the examples of what a useful Wikipedia article evaluation looks like.)

The article discusses the cell types, somatic and germline, and the process of gene therapy for each. Somatic gene therapies are uninheritable while germline gene therapies are inheritable and can be passed down to future generations.

Many points of view or sides of the argument are discussed in detail throughout the article. One specific thing this article discusses that I found interesting was gene doping. I was not previously aware that doping was a form of gene therapy, which lead to the improvement of athletic performance.

Once adequate background information and knowledge is given, the article goes on to discuss applications of gene therapy for genetic diseases. Listing genetic diseases that have been treated using gene therapies and whether or not they are FDA approved.

Noting the argument from multiple sides, the article even discusses adverse effects of using gene therapies. including that gene therapies can often be short-lived and sometimes even lead to death, as seen among three gene therapy patients.

The last portion of the article goes through the history of gene therapy, creating a timeline of when and how advancements occurred up until now.

The reference section contains no less that 100 cited sources, leading it to be dependable and accurate source of information. One thing I would like to have seen in the article is a description of the gene therapy process, how is it implemented in patients and the steps to do so. More images, graphs, documentation of gene therapy clinical trials and their success or failure rate.