An advancement that I consider the most significant in my clinical practice is recombinant DNA technology. It has played an important role in improving population health through the development of pharmaceuticals and new vaccines. It also adds to the management strategies in the home health setting through the development of diagnostic kits, monitoring devices, and new approaches in therapy (Horton & Lucassen, 2019).The technology revolutionized home health practice and provided new opportunities for the production of a broad range of therapeutic products that play a great role against lethal human diseases. According to Aggarwal (2021), the most recognized forms of therapy include; vaccines, insulin, human growth hormones, and antibiotics such as penicillin’s. For instance, in the home health setting, insulin, a therapeutic agent, plays a huge role in the management of type 1 DM, and to increase sensitivity of pancreatic cells to metformin in patients with type 2 DM, for better glycemic control.
Using the same technology, scientists have developed and combined vectors for genetic modification and gene therapy. In gene therapy, scientists make site-specific modifications to a single genome with the intent of correcting an altered (mutated) gene or to make modifications that are specific to a site and target therapeutic management (Horton & Lucassen, 2019).The approach to gene therapy is wide with the potential for managing illnesses that occur as a result of recessive gene disorders. The most significant diseases in this category include; sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, and muscular dystrophy, for which we closely monitor and follow-up patient in the home health setting. Aggarwal (2021) highlights that presently, there is ongoing research for different forms of gene therapy to replace maladaptive and defective genes that are associated with monogenic diseases such as sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis, to alter or kill aberrant cancer and HIV cells, and in the management of hepatitis C, to induce the production of therapeutic proteins.
References
Aggarwal, S. (2021). Biotechnology Applications In Medicine. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 6(10).
Horton, R. H., & Lucassen, A. M. (2019). Recent developments in genetic/genomic medicine. Clinical Science, 133(5), 697-708. Doi: 10.1042/CS20180436. PMID: 30837331; PMCID: PMC6399103.
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