Girl died after gene-editing treatment in China: Report

The girl, given the pseudonym “Mei,” died a week after receiving a spinal infusion of trillions of viruses WASHINGTON: A six-year-old Chinese girl died last year after receiving an experimental gene-therapy to correct a non-life-threatening condition, according to an investigation by Science and Retraction Watch.The girl, given the pseudonym "Mei," died a week after receiving a spinal infusion of trillions of viruses last March designed to penetrate the brain and fix a rare genetic condition that caused her mild cognitive impairment, the report said Thursday. But her parents, who paid more than $800,000 to fund the experiment, were not adequately informed about the risks, the report said.The lead researcher went on to publish a paper on related animal studies in journal, Nature, that made no mention of Mei, noting only "bridging the gap between preclinical research and clinical translation remains a significant challenge."Mei had a rare genetic condition called Snijders Blok-Campeau syndrome, known to affect just 237 people worldwide. Caused by a single mutated DNA base, a T that should be a C, most affected individuals have a normal life expectancy, have larger-than-normal heads a...