As of January 2012 more than 1100 gene therapy clinical trials have been performed worldwide.
By order of frequency these trials bear on :
Gene therapy means introducing into our cells a gene. This is done because the normal gene is absent or dysfunctional, or because we need a gene to activate a repair process (vascular diseases), or because the gene will directly or after stimulation attack a disease (cancer, Aids). Introduction of the gene into the body requires innocuous vectors : certain viruses, ou circular fragments of DNA called plasmids, like those used for manufacturing recombinant proteins
