Gene Therapy Applications for the Treatment of Acute Inflammatory Conditions

Gene therapy represents a new therapeutic modality for the treatment of acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Clinical trials are currently underway in patients with hereditary diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and ar antitrypsin deficiency (1) as well as in chronic infectious diseases, like hepatitis C and HIV infections, or in cancer (2,3). Although there has been a great deal of enthusiasm for gene therapy, it still remains unclear and too early to determine whether this new approach will be safe and effective.