Bubble Dog May Cure Bubble Boy

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A new treatment has cured basset hounds with bubble boy disease, a life-threatening genetic disorder that disables the immune system, according to a recent study.

The disease, called X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (XSCID), affects male dogs and around 1 in 100,000 boys, all of whom inherit a faulty gene from one of their mother’s X-chromosomes. The dog study suggests the new treatment may become available to people in future.

At present, there is only one treatment for the disease, which was brought to the public's attention in a popular 1976 film called "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble," starring John Travolta. He played David Vetter, a young man who spent his entire life in a sterilized environment. The real-life Vetter died in 1984.

Boys diagnosed with the condition are given bone-marrow transplants that can replenish stem cells responsible for renewing new functional immune cells.

Post je objavljen 26.02.2009. u 04:36 sati.

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Bubble Dog May Cure Bubble Boy