Drug Cures Mice Of Down Syndrome With A Single Dose
“Cure Down syndrome with a single injection? Well, maybe—if you’re a mouse. A team of scientists from John Hopkins University and the National Institutes of Health have cured newborn mice of Down syndrome by injecting them with a drug that stimulates what’s called the Sonic Hedgehog pathway (so-named because in flies, a lack of the Hedgehog signaling protein causes embryos to become prickly, hedgehog-like balls).”
Pretty neat! Of course, like many cancers and various other diseases, the best course of action is to be a mouse and not a human. We cure all kinds of diseases in those little guys.
One thing, though: I’m not really comfy with saying Down syndrome needs a cure, or implying it is even a disease. It is a genetic disorder with medical consequences, but if you’ve ever met someone with Down syndrome, you know that they are rich and full human beings. Who gets to decide that they need “curing”? This sort of science walks on all kinds of ethical eggshells.
It does teach us more about the biology of Down syndrome, which is important. But we should be careful how we talk about it, and remember who we are talking about.
Finally, Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) = best gene name ever.