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Mouse studies show gene therapy can cause big drop in latent herpes infections

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41–50 of 77 posts

Re: Mouse studies show gene therapy can cause big drop in latent herpes infections

#41
post #36

My understanding is that herpes (both HSV1 and HSV2) are not actually bad but have enormous social stigma, which is the main problem. I wonder what can be done to address that, as an alternative strategy.

They are actually bad, with a risk of chronic latent infection that could extend to deeper in the brain, and also a strongly suspected link with the (still unknown) cause of Alzheimer's.

Re: Mouse studies show gene therapy can cause big drop in latent herpes infections

#42
post #12
post #10

What bothers me is that every single good news coming from science has the same old "but". >It will still take a long time before these experiments lead to the first human trials And we'll never hear from them again. You betcha!

Look up when the electron was discovered, and how long electronics took to become a thing.

Actually, electronics were already in widespread use way before the discovery of the electron by Thomson in 1897...

What you probably meant is the discovery of electricity.

Re: Mouse studies show gene therapy can cause big drop in latent herpes infections

#43
post #18

I remember a study suggesting the Chickenpox vaccine suppresses outbreaks of HSV1 and HSV2 https://www.dovepress.com/efficacy-of-the-anti-vzv-anti-hsv3...

I wonder if that's why I've never had HSV1 despite my wife having had several outbreaks while we've been together. We aren't careful during outbreaks because I figure I'm going to get it sooner or later and we can't go weeks without kissing, but I've still never had an outbreak.

Some people never get outbreaks, but carry the virus regardless. So by not distancing you might prolong an outbreak for her.

Re: Mouse studies show gene therapy can cause big drop in latent herpes infections

#44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am baffled why you are being downvoted. While this research is very promising, it's also not hard for me to imagine a scenario where these targeted molecular "DNA scissors" do something unexpected. And while the risks of gene editing seems worth it for fatal or debilitating diseases, I don't think I'd want to be on a trial for this for a disease that is primarily an annoyance. Again, I think the research and techni…

his comment is trash and you supporting it makes you trash as well. please get up to date on how medical research is performed.

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Re: Mouse studies show gene therapy can cause big drop in latent herpes infections

#45

One could imagine this technique also working in latent reserves of coronavirus harbored by people who have become infected.

I wonder if this would work for rabies.

Is there such a thing as dormant rabies?

My impression was that most people die from rabies if they get it, so you really want to vaccinate people with any risk of getting rabies. And the vaccine is amazingly effective. (+ you can still give the vaccine once people are infected if you're fast.)

Re: Mouse studies show gene therapy can cause big drop in latent herpes infections

#46
post #10

What bothers me is that every single good news coming from science has the same old "but". >It will still take a long time before these experiments lead to the first human trials And we'll never hear from them again. You betcha!

It's often the case. It's not always the case.

I remember the stories during the summer. "mRNA is promising, but there never was an mRNA vaccine that made it to the market. Nobody knows if it'll work."

Well, it does work. Amazingly so.

Re: Mouse studies show gene therapy can cause big drop in latent herpes infections

#47
post #18

I remember a study suggesting the Chickenpox vaccine suppresses outbreaks of HSV1 and HSV2 https://www.dovepress.com/efficacy-of-the-anti-vzv-anti-hsv3...

I wonder if that's why I've never had HSV1 despite my wife having had several outbreaks while we've been together. We aren't careful during outbreaks because I figure I'm going to get it sooner or later and we can't go weeks without kissing, but I've still never had an outbreak.

Over 50% of the population has HSV 1, many never show symptoms.

I wouldn't worry about it , very likely you already had it for most of your life

Re: Mouse studies show gene therapy can cause big drop in latent herpes infections

#48
Hurrah for science! Hurrah for gene therapy! We are finally able to match God in creativity, and even improve the design!

God/Nature was never that good anyway, we can give ourselves special powers now. Science ethics committees have discussed this, and they say its fine - we've had that discussion! Release the beast. Its not like my code is isn't perfect - I thrive when I barely have a handle on what a complicated function does, and can't even see it!

Re: Mouse studies show gene therapy can cause big drop in latent herpes infections

#49
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, well maybe this thread can be a tiny part of the solution to that stigma. First off herpes comes in two primary variants: HSV-1 and HSV-2. Most humans on Earth (between 60% and 95%) have HSV-1, and it's estimated that around 16% of humans have HSV-2. Herpes is extremely common. If you want references or more info, see the wikipedia page [0]. According to the article, the researchers are currently focused on HSV-1…

Supposedly they've stopped testing for herpes most of the time because of how likely it is someone has it, how unactionable the information is, and the stress it causes.

This kinda makes sense. A lot of people are asymptomatic carriers and there's not much you can do about it

Re: Mouse studies show gene therapy can cause big drop in latent herpes infections

#50

Hurrah for science! Hurrah for gene therapy! We are finally able to match God in creativity, and even improve the design! God/Nature was never that good anyway, we can give ourselves special powers now. Science ethics committees have discussed this, and they say its fine - we've had that discussion! Release the beast. Its not like my code is isn't perfect - I thrive when I barely have a handle on what a complicated f…

Taking charge of our evolution / genetics has always been humanities future and there is absolutely nothing wrong with eradicating disease and optimizing us however we see fit.
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