Anyone heard about this? Looks interesting...-----------------------------------------http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/912468/superpill_could_treat_2000_gene_diseases/index.html?source=r_healthA RADICAL new pill that could treat almost 2,000 inherited diseases, including some forms of cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy, could be available within three years, scientists said today. The drug encourages the repair of faulty genes that lead to crippling illnesses, and is in the early stages of human trials. Scientists say it could be licensed by 2009. The drug, made by PTC Therapeutics and known as PTC124, is unique because it can correct a mutation that leads to thousands of diseases. It has already had encouraging results in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis. In effect, the pill forces the body to ignore genetic mutations and produce normal proteins, rather than mutated versions that lead to disease. Patients would have to take it throughout their lives. A study in Nature magazine today shows that in mice with a Duchenne muscular dystrophy mutation, the drug starts dystrophin production and restores muscles to health. The research suggests it should work against more than 1,800 other illnesses. Researcher Lee Sweeney, of the University of Pennsylvania, said: "It doesn't just target one mutation that causes disease,but a whole class of mutations."(c) 2007 Evening Standard; London (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.Source: Evening Standard; London (UK)-----------------------------------------
That sounds like bullshit to me. I'll believe it when I see it.
