Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 05:14am on 25 Nov 2025,Tuesday Health & Wellness
Three-year-old Oliver Chu from California has astounded doctors after becoming the first person globally to receive groundbreaking gene therapy for Hunter syndrome, a rare inherited condition causing progressive brain and body damage. The devastating disease typically proves fatal before age 20. At Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, medical staff altered Oliver's stem cells by inserting a working copy of the faulty gene, enabling his body to produce the missing enzyme crucial for cellular health. Nine months post-treatment, Oliver is thriving producing hundreds of times normal enzyme levels, developing speech and mobility dramatically, and no longer requiring weekly infusions. The £2.5 million trial, nearly cancelled due to funding issues, now includes five boys worldwide, offering hope for similar genetic disorders. (PC: BBC)
