Yesterday's edition of the daily newspaper "Die Welt (August 21, 2016)" reported on a groundbreaking therapeutic success.
For the first time in Europe, a genetically caused metabolic disorder has been successfully cured in a patient. The 43-year-old patient suffered from lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD), a hereditary disease in which a special enzyme for breaking down fats is not produced or is produced insufficiently in the body.
The result is extremely high fat levels in the blood. These can rise up to 10 times the norm.
The typical sign in these patients is that when a blood sample is taken, the blood serum is not clear due to all the fat, but looks like milk.
High fat levels in the blood trigger a variety of other diseases. Extremely painful and even dangerous inflammation of the pancreas occurs very frequently. The life expectancy of patients is significantly reduced.
For the first time, gene therapy has now been successfully used to treat this disease at the Charité Berlin.
It is the first gene therapy ever to be used to treat a metabolic disorder in Europe.
This success is encouraging. In the future, other diseases based on a genetic defect could also be cured. A true milestone in medical research and a ray of hope for many affected patients.
The other side of the coin, however, must not be ignored.
Especially when the discussion about rising medical costs and rising additional health insurance contributions is being raised again.
The cost of treating this one patient amounted to €800,000.
Progress doesn't come for free. We all want it, and it's a blessing for patients.
The article's closing remarks were also noteworthy. It pointed out that the fee schedule for genetic analysis, a basic prerequisite for diagnosing and planning treatment for genetic defects, had just been removed from the statutory health insurance catalog.