ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Friday, September 6, 1996              TAG: 9609060035
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-5  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON

SICKLE CELL TREATMENT LOOKS LIKELY

A synthetic molecule that corrects the gene mutation that causes sickle cell anemia could be ready to test on human patients within a year, researchers say.

The gene repair molecule that has proven itself in laboratory cultures has already been tested on blood cells from patients with sickle cell anemia, a severe blood disorder that affects more than 50,000 Americans, most of them black.

Eric B. Kmiec, head of the Jefferson team, said the same type of molecule may also be used to repair genes that cause some other inherited diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and Gaucher's disease.

The team is now talking with Food and Drug Administration officials as a first step toward getting approval to try the technique in patients, he said, adding that it could be ready for human testing within 12 months.

- Associated Press

LENGTH: Short :   28 lines