Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • NEWS FEATURE

Gene therapy is facing its biggest challenge yet

After finally gaining traction as a potential treatment for certain genetic disorders, gene therapy tackles the challenge of sickle-cell disease.
By
  1. Heidi Ledford
Grajevis Bakatunkanda, who has sickle cell anaemia, sits for a portrait in his bedroom in Wynberg, Cape Town, South Africa.

For years, Grajevis Bakatunkanda’s sickle-cell anaemia went undiagnosed. Credit: Aurélie Marrier d'Unienville for Nature

Grajevis Bakatunkanda’s mother knew the signs: when her son lost interest in dinner, that meant the pain was on its way. It would strike, like clockwork, nearly every week. Soon the shy, skinny boy would be at the hospital near their home in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where doctors would provide morphine for the pain and invariably diagnose him with malaria.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 576, 22-25 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-03698-8

References

  1. Herrick, J. B. Arch. Intern. Med. 6, 517–521 (1910).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Pauling, L., Itano, H. A., Singer, S. J. & Wells, I. C. Science 110, 543–548 (1949).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Ingram, V. M. Nature 178, 792–794 (1956).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Xu, J. et al. Science 334, 993–996 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links