Biotechnology: Survival

vs. Enhancement

Ryan Hamstengel

Kassandra Kasparek

Jason Heisler

Alyssa Kuharcik

Scot Nicol

Kenny Lou

Survival and Enhancement

➢Survival: Keeping an organism alive.

➢Enhancement: Increasing the quality of life

for an individual. Only in the cases where life

is not threatened.

History

Already existing

drugs used to increase

muscle mass:

➢ IGF1

➢ Testosterone

➢ HGH

➢ Genetropin

Surgery

➢Plastic Surgery

➢Face Transplant

➢Leg Lengthening

Ethics

➢ Cultural Relativism: raising the bar

➢ Utilitarianism: we should make human lives as comfortable as possible.

➢ Duty: doctor’s duty is to do no harm, no obligation to enhance.

➢ Justice: unfair to people who can’t afford the enhancements.

➢ Rights: people have the right to do what they want to their body.

Ethics Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YkFPMyAI6w

Gene Therapy

❏ Cancer

❏ Chronic Granulomatous

Disorder (CGD)

❏ Congenital blindness

❏ Diabetes

❏ Heart disease

❏ Hemophilia

❏ Hepatitis

❏ HIV

❏ Huntington's Disease

❏ Influenza

❏ Lysosomal storage disease

❏ Muscular dystrophy

❏ Parkinson's Disease

❏ Severe Combined Immune

Deficiency (ADA-SCID)

Methods of Gene Therapy

Case Study: Myostatin Inhibition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uRLZ8IkQZY

Myostatin Inhibition

Similar Clinical Studies for Myostatin

InhibitionFollistatin Gene Delivery

➢ Follistatin is a protein that

inhibits myostatin, which is a

protein that inhibits muscle

growth.

➢ Increasing the levels of

follistatin, the inhibitor is

inhibited, which will lead to an

increase in muscle mass.

➢ In clinical studies the follistatin

gene was delivered to mice and

monkeys using an AAV viral

vector. The injections resulted in

an increase in muscle mass and

muscle strength.

ACE-031 Receptor

➢ In clinical studies, a soluble

receptor “ACE-031” for myostatin

prevented myostatin from binding

muscle-linked receptors.

➢ Results: At highest dose, healthy

volunteers gained 1 kg of muscle in

2 weeks.

➢ Negative side effects: Nose and

gum bleeding.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy➢ Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy affects 1 in 3,500

newborn boys.

➢ Is caused by a fault in a gene called the dystrophin or

DMD gene. A fault in this gene stops the body from

making a protein important in muscle fibres called

dystrophin, its absence results in muscle weakness that

worsens over time.

➢ Dystrophin gene is X-linked, thus DMD affects only

boys, but girls can be carriers.

➢ DMD patients have difficulty walking at ages 1-3, lose

ability to walk by the age of 14, lose ability of movement

and control of upper body by 19.

➢ Shorter life expectancy because of respiratory weakness

and handicapped control of body.

Primary Players

DoctorsPatients

➢ Do no harm to patients

➢ To inform and be informed

➢ To minimize risk

➢ Duty: To be informed and

be responsible for their

health and not abuse their

own well being.

Secondary Players

Direct Parties Indirect Parties

Families and Friends

➢ To be informed of the procedure

and know what to expect

Hospitals

➢ To ensure the best possible results

and to make sure that no

misconduct occurs

Insurance Agencies

➢ They judge whether the procedure is

necessary for survival or not

Government

➢ They ultimately decide if procedures are

safe

Corporations

➢ Must be sure that products are safe if they

have been modified in any way

General Public

➢ The different views of different groups will

be expressed in this issue

Arguments for Only Survival

➢ Saves lives- a new method to treat

disease that do not have other cures.

➢ Maintain gene diversity

➢ Enhance knowledge to develop better

medical treatments.

Limitations and Arguments Against

Only Survival➢ Possibility of error when treating a patient. An example would be Jesse Gelsinger,

who was infected with a viral vector that did not introduce the gene into the

correct region of the patient’s genome.

➢ Limited gene diversity.

➢ Playing God: Several different religions would view gene therapy as another

attempt by people to play God. In their view only God should control peoples

genes.

Arguments for Enhancement➢ Safety: People will try to get the enhancements through

unsafe ways.

➢ Quality of Life: people have the ability to be happier

➢ Pursuit of Perfection: Increase society’s wellness as

a whole when everyone is able to receive enhancement.

➢ Economics: Gene therapy enhancement would open a new branch in the

medical field, creating job opportunities and sparking more interest in

biotechnology.

➢ Increase in research and the selling of regulated gene therapeutic drugs to

consumers.

Limitations and Arguments

Against Enhancement

Misuse

➢ Excessive enhancement can be

detrimental to health

Inequality

➢ Inequality could arise and the bar

will be raised higher for

individuals in terms of

attractiveness, intelligence, ect.

➢ Not everyone is going to be

enhanced to their “perfect” self

because of physical and

economic limitations.

Gene Therapy More For 1st World

No Consent

➢People who can’t

give consent, such

as fetuses, babies,

and handicaps

could be forced into

becoming

“enhanced” and be

stuck with it.

In Conclusion...

Pro-enhancement as long as it is not excessively used

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