UK Doctors Use Three-Person DNA to Prevent Deadly Mitochondrial Diseases

Kokcha News Agency: UK doctors have made a significant breakthrough in preventing the transmission of untreatable genetic diseases to babies by using the DNA of three individuals to create IVF embryos. This pioneering technique has resulted in the birth of eight healthy babies, marking a major milestone in genetic medicine.

The mothers involved in this procedure were all at high risk of passing on fatal mitochondrial diseases to their children due to mutations in the mitochondria, the energy-producing structures within cells.

UK Leads the Way:
The UK became the first country to legalize this method, and the births of these babies, four boys and four girls (including one set of identical twins), have been long-awaited by doctors worldwide. The babies, born to seven different women, show no signs of the diseases they were at risk of inheriting. Another pregnancy using this method is currently ongoing.

The Science Behind the Breakthrough:
Professor Doug Turnbull, who has been involved in developing this technique for over two decades, described the successful births as a “huge relief” for both researchers and affected families. “Seeing these results is a wonderful development and a great relief for patients,” he said.

While the majority of the approximately 20,000 genes in the human body are located in the cell nucleus, hundreds or even thousands of mitochondria, each carrying 37 of their own genes, surround the nucleus. Mutations in these mitochondrial genes can impair or completely halt mitochondrial function.

Mitochondrial Diseases:
Mitochondria are inherited exclusively from the biological mother, meaning that genetic disorders in these tiny energy producers can affect all of a woman’s children. Symptoms of mitochondrial diseases typically appear in early childhood, as the brain, heart, and muscles—organs that require the most energy—begin to fail.

Children affected by these diseases often experience developmental delays, require wheelchairs, and frequently die at a young age. Approximately one in 5,000 newborns is affected by mitochondrial diseases.

The New Method Prevents Disease:
The first eight babies born using this technique were described in two scientific papers published in the *New England Journal of Medicine*. All the babies were healthy at birth, and genetic tests revealed that they either carried no or very low levels of defective mitochondria. While some of the mother’s mitochondria were still transferred to the embryos, the levels were not high enough to cause disease, indicating that the method can be further refined.