Gene therapy and molecular approaches to the treatment of hereditary muscular disorders

Gene therapy for inherited muscle disease is an active area of research and development. Initial emphasis has been on gene replacement but alternative approaches are increasingly being considered in order to overcome difficul ties, such as the immune rejection of transduced cells, the need for approp riate and tissue-specific control of expression, and the requirement for sy stemic spread in some conditions. However, the most significant obstacles t o the clinical success of gene therapy are still the lack of efficiency and accuracy of gene medicine delivery. Curr Opin Neurol 13:553-560. (C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.