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Jesse Gelsinger (June 18, 1981 – September 17, 1999) was the first person publicly identified as having died in a clinical trial for gene therapy. He was 18 years old. Gelsinger suffered from ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency, an X-linked genetic disease of the liver, the symptoms of which include an inability to metabolize ammonia – a byproduct of protein breakdown. The disease is usually fatal at birth, but Gelsinger had not inherited the disease; in his case it was apparently the result of a spontaneous genetic mutation after conception and as such was not as severe – some of his cells were normal, enabling him to survive on a restricted diet and special medications. Gelsinger joined a clinical trial run by the University of Pennsylvania that aimed at developing a treatment for infants born with severe disease. On September 13, 1999, Gelsinger was injected with an adenoviral vector carrying a corrected gene to test the safety of the procedure. He died four days later, September 17, at 2:30 pm, apparently having suffered a massive immune response triggered by the use of the viral vector used to transport the gene into his cells, leading to multiple organ failure and brain death. A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigation concluded that the scientists involved in the trial, including the co-investigator Dr. James M. Wilson (Director of the Institute for Human Gene Therapy), broke several rules of conduct: *Inclusion of Gelsinger as a substitute for another volunteer who dropped out, despite Gelsinger's having high ammonia levels that should have led to his exclusion from the trial; *Failure by the university to report that two patients had experienced serious side effects from the gene therapy; *Failure to disclose, in the informed-consent documentation, the deaths of monkeys given a similar treatment. The University of Pennsylvania later issued a rebuttal, but paid the parents an undisclosed amount in settlement. Both Wilson and the University are reported to have had financial stakes in the research.〔Greenberg, Daniel S. "Science for Sale. The Perils, Rewards, and Delusions of Campus Capitalism". Chicago: U. Chicago Press, 2007, 324pp., pages 104–106.〕 The Gelsinger case was a severe setback for scientists working in the field. == Notes == 〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jesse Gelsinger」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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