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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2002)
Iws HE BATTALION 11A Thursday, April 18, 2002 ew cure found for Ibubble boy disease’ 'limate will, n dioxide t^IEW ENGLAND (AP) — In the most strik- 111 the atm ■ success yet for gene therapy, French doctors the role oi M e apparently cured four little boys of two 0,1 hyvegetfcM and deadly immune system disorders "T'fstatdi dutibed “bubble boy disease.” m ^s overiiiMphc boys, followed for up to two and a half Brs, have healthy immune systems, are growing l Po rs giveinally and live at home after spending their >se w Jl° ^« months in a sterile environment because they L t |0n ; saidId not tight off disease. The immune system of -ontribute i ij idth boy was partially restored and he is 1U)r <-‘ likeht Proving with other treatment. "armingtkBTwo years ago the doctors reported initial ancenainties Bcess with the first two patients; the update in suggest ueBursday’s New England Journal of Medicine 'ini; more, shows the treatment is still working. ■“This is the first instance in which an other- te modeler Be fatal disease has been treated with gene land projecic.B ra Py as the onI y treatment and the disease rrees by 211 was reversed ” said D r. Jennifer M. Puck, head of the immunologic genetics section at the global averat !100 than pit, IN BRIEF :ell therai MS effecl! Colo. y has helptcBP*' ' n )le sclerosis ?,• ne patients *it i of the disec say. s are the too dr cells. They« • a wide variety : I and tissue tp rology conferem Denver, Universt jn Medical Ce# reported ii i an experimpiii 1 vhich they IW am the blood® ! i MS using e* ;thod. National Human Genome Research Institute, phis is exciting and it’s important.” ■ The study is welcome news for the gene ther- By field, which suffered a setback when an periment killed a teenager at the University of Wisylvania in 1999. The death raised fears fet the experiments might be too dangerous |d led to efforts to increase safety. The best-known victim was David, Houston’s famous “bubble boy” who lived in a Irm-proof plastic enclosure until his death on ■“ 984. The boys lacked a crucial protein because of a genetic mutation. As a result, they could not make two types of crucial infection-fighting immune cells. Many babies with the disorder are now saved with bone marrow transplants, but need monthly intravaneous infusions from donated blood for the rest of their lives. To reverse the gene defect, doctors at Necker Hospital in Paris drew bone marrow from the boys. They collected stem cells for the marrow and mixed them with a harmless virus in which a gene that makes the missing protein had been inserted. After the virus infected the bone mar row cells, millions of each boy’s cells were injected into his bloodstream. Repeated tests showed the boys’ bone mar row cells continued to make the immune cells they once lacked. In addition,they have gotten inoculated against some childhood diseases — shots that once would have killed them. Soia Skarlatos, gene therapy coordinator at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, said the results do not prove the boys’ immune systems have been permanently repaired, but it is the longest-lived success in gene therapy so far. Some of the boys’ stem cells still have the defective gene, but enough have the normal one to give them a good immune system, she said. Skarlatos said the approach could eventual ly help create some other genetic diseases starting with hemophilia and another form of SCID. “In the next five years or so, I would expect to see some results,” she said. Heatwave hits East coast BOSTON (AP) Summer like heat baked the ■astern third of the country fegain Wednesday, toppling ore records and sending peo- le outside in search of sun — fid relief. “Whatever is cold is flying ut the door,” said Barbara ngold, a co-owner of Bart’s omemade ice cream parlor Northampton. It felt like July, not mid- phl. As Phoenix, Miami and Ian Antonio all hit the low 80s, oston hit a record high of 92 Agrees and Springfield swel- red at 95. Concord, N.H., 'osted a record 91 and 'ortiand, Maine, a record 80. few York and Newark, N.J., th had a record of 96 and Wladelphia hit 95. it was 94 in e nation’s capital. The unseasonabe warmth fetched from the Midwest to outhern Maine, where the 'ortiand beaches played host to ople in swimsuits before the ercury dropped into the 50s. Along the upper Great akes, snow melting rapidly Oder the hot sun caused coding in northern sections fWisconsin and Michigan. Leona Williams, shopping 11 Philadelphia for summer lothes for her children, said he was enjoying the heat — to a point. “Winter was so mild it was almost like spring, and now it looks like spring’s going to be like summer,” Williams said. “It’s very strange.” The late afternoon sun was u We got help from local resi dents, city depart ments and we’ve got high school stu dents out here helping us sandbag to protect what we can — Joseph Gayer public safety director so hot in Manhattan that Theresa Hudec said her 10- minute wait for a bus home felt like an hour. “It came too hot, too soon ” she said. “If it’s like this now, what’s going to happen in July and August?” Cooler weather was advancing across the northern Plains and was expected to reach the Northeast during the weekend. In the meantime. Hooding caused by melting snow and recent heavy rain in northern Michigan led to an order for evacuations in Ironwood. Michigan Gov. John Engler declared Gogebic County and Ironwood a disaster area Wednesday and National Guard troops were sent to help. “We got help from local residents, city departments and we’ve got high school stu dents out here helping us sandbag to protect what we can,” said public safety direc tor Joseph Gayer. School was let out early Tuesday at Glidden, Wis., so youngsters could help sandbag low-lying areas along the Chippewa River. On the Camden, N.J., waterfront, students on a class trip fanned themselves while walking to the Amistad, a replica slave ship. Across the Delaware River, a summer-like and soupy haze hung over Philadelphia. “If this is a premonition of the summer. I’m worried,” said Bobbie Beebe of Morrisville, Pa., sweat beading on her arms and legs as she rested from cutting grass at a church in Hopewell, N.J. “It’s too early for this.” Wells Fargo provides an Aggie Graduate Loan Program developed just for the Class of ’02 that includes; ^ 100% Car Loan ★ Unsecured Personal Loan ★ Wells Fargo® Free Checking ^ FREE Wells Fargo Online® Banking account access 'k FREE Wells Fargo ATM & Check Card® Call, or come by one of our local branches to open your loan today. College Station: 200 Southwest Pkwy: 776-3424, 1801 Rock Prairie Rd.: 776-3499, 321 University Dr.: 691-8366 Bryan: 3000 Briarcrest: 776-5402, 501 N. Harvey Mitchell Pkwy.: 821-3120 < 2002 Wells Fargo Banks All rights reserved Member FDIC DUB MILLER LIVE at Shadow Canyon Thursday, April 18 th Doors Open at 8pm; show starts at 1 Opm DUNK YOUR RING AND WEAR IT, TOO PITCHER & T-SHIRT combo pack M*t*s** d t to A. Jell-O shots B. Keg stands C. A party with plenty of singles P. AjJL OF THE ABOVE Come to Party House ONE NIGHT ONLY: Thursday Apri at Walton Hall FREE PARTY NO CHARGE come and ENJOY THE PARTY1I! Mni-se is an EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM put on by members of the T.O. Walton and C.C. Kruegger Hall Staffs and Hall Cmmrii* loin us for an experience that will last a lifetime.