The First Treatment for PKU: The Pioneers-Birmingham 1951

Gene-targeted therapies: Overview and implications

Gene-targeted therapies (GTTs) are therapeutic platforms that are in principle applicable to large numbers of monogenic diseases. The rapid development and implementation of GTTs have profound implications for rare monogenic disease therapy development. This article provides a brief summary of the primary types of GTTs and a brief overview of the current state of the science. It also serves as a primer for the articles in this special issue.

The Progress and Future of US Newborn Screening

Progress in newborn screening (NBS) has been driven for 60 years by developments in science and technology, growing consumer advocacy, the actions of providers involved in the care of rare disease patients, and by federal and State government funding and policies. With the current explosion of clinical trials of treatments for rare diseases, the pressure for expansion has grown, and concerns about the capacity for improvement and growth are being expressed. Genome and exome sequencing (GS/ES) have now opened more opportunities for early identification and disease prevention at all points in the lifespan. The greatest challenge facing NBS stems from the conditions most amenable to screening, and new treatment development is that we are screening for rare genetic diseases. In addition, understanding the spectrum of severity requires vast amounts of population and genomic data. We propose recommendations on improving the NBS system and addressing specific demands to grow its capacity by: better defining the criteria by which screening targets are established; financing the NBS system's responsiveness to opportunities for expansion, including engagement and funding from stakeholders; creating a national quality assurance, data, IT, and communications infrastructure; and improving intra-governmental communications. While our recommendations may be specific to the United States, the underlying issues should be considered when working to improve NBS programs globally.

The Editor's Choice for Issue 1, Volume 7

Dear Readers: welcome to the second issue of the Editor's Choice, continuing the tradition started by Peter Schielen's appraisal of Issue 4 of Volume 6 of IJNS, published in this issue [...].