MSUD Gene Therapy Works in Petunia; No Patients Treated — SkimNews
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- Petunia was the second cow in the effort: after her brother Louie died within hours of birth, three researchers kept her alive through two sleepless nights, moved her from the barn to a veterinary hospital and injected her with a virus carrying new genes.
- MSUD is a life-threatening condition that is unusually prevalent in the Mennonite community in Lancaster, where families have entered Strauss’s medical clinic seeking help.
- Kevin Strauss sought a simple, one-time MSUD fix after two decades; with the 79-pound Petunia, his stated goal was to prove the gene therapy rather than merely save the calf.
- Petunia survived the treatment and is now a feisty, 5-year-old, 1,500-pound hay-munching heifer.
- MSUD gene therapy has not been administered to any of Strauss’s patients, even in a clinical trial, despite its success in Petunia.
Why it matters: For Mennonite families in Lancaster, where MSUD is unusually prevalent, the gap is stark: a one-time fix has worked in Petunia, yet after two decades, zero patients in Strauss’s clinic have received it to date, even in a clinical trial.
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