British scientists create three-parent embryos

[Guest guest]

British scientists create three-parent embryos

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSL0516465820080205?

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British scientists have created human embryos with three parents in a

development they hope could lead to effective treatments for a range

of serious hereditary diseases within five years.

Researchers from Newcastle University, in northern England, presented

their findings at a medical conference at the weekend, a university

spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

The IVF, or test-tube, embryos were created using DNA from one man

and two women.

The idea is to prevent women with faults in their mitochondrial DNA

passing diseases on to their children. Around one in 5,000 children

suffer from mitochondrial diseases, which can include fatal liver,

heart and brain disorders, deafness, muscular problems and forms of

epilepsy.

If all goes well, researchers believe they may be able to start

offering the technique as a treatment in three to five years.

Mitochondria are tiny power packs inside cells that provide their

energy. Faulty genetics can mean mitochondria do not completely burn

food and oxygen, leading to the build-up of poisons responsible for

more than 40 different diseases.

The Newcastle team believe these diseases could be avoided if embryos

at risk were given an effective mitochondrial transplant. The process

involves in vitro fertilization (IVF) and the subsequent removal of

the egg's nucleus. The nucleus is then placed into a donor egg whose

DNA has been removed.

The resulting fetus inherits nuclear DNA, or genes, from both parents

but mitochondrial DNA from a third party.

" The idea is simply to swap the bad diseased mitochondria -- give a

transplant, if you like -- for good healthy ones from a donor, "

Chinnery, a member of the Newcastle team, said in a telephone

interview.

" We're trying to prevent kids being born with fatal diseases. "

Mitochondrial DNA is passed down only through the female line.

The technique has so far been tried only in the laboratory, using

abnormal embryos left over from IVF therapy, and the handful of three-

parent embryos created were destroyed after six days.

Stiff opposition to the technique is likely from critics of embryo

research who fear the creation of designer babies.

The research was presented to the Medical Research Council Centre for

Neuromuscular Diseases conference in London on February 1-2.

[Guest guest]

I saw a news show on this very topic in Dallas last night. Very interesting. I

don't see why there would be so much controversy...seems like the goal is to

eliminate disease in children. I suppose this could be done with CMT as well. I

think it is fantastic and certainly a better option than destroying the embryo

with CMT altogether...that is where ethical considerations come in.

Amy Hodge