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A CRISPR edit for heart disease

A one-off injection to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease is now a prospect thanks to advances in gene editing.
  1. Anthony King

    1. Anthony King is a freelance science writer based in Dublin.

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Consider this scenario: it’s 2037, and a middle-aged person can walk into a health centre to get a vaccination against cardiovascular disease. The injection targets cells in the liver, tweaking a gene that is involved in regulating cholesterol in the blood. The simple procedure trims cholesterol levels and dramatically reduces the person’s risk of a heart attack.

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Nature 555, S23-S25 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-02482-4

This article is part of Nature Outlook: The future of medicine, an editorially independent supplement produced with the financial support of third parties. About this content.

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