Implementation of CRISPR_Cas 9 in Providing Present Day Solutions to Type 2 Diabetes

Affecting approximately 95% of diabetic patients, Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is acommon chronic disease seen globally. Exhibited in 81% of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, T2DM is further considered a potential pathway to the development of Alzheimer’s Dementia (AD). Recent studies suggest individuals affected by Alzheimer’s are in a “diabetic state,” due to their decrease of insensitivity to insulin deeming it a third type of diabetes. Although diabetics can control their condition through the use of insulin and inhibitors, those affected by T2DM are still at a high risk of eventually developing AD. As society advances, the gap between technology and medicine has been bridged to create more efficient devices to help combat medical challenges. Seen in the field of gene therapy, one such therapeutic approach has entered a new era, with the dawn of Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats Protein 9 (CRISPR Cas_9). Though it was always available in nature, this procedure has been rediscovered to tame into a genome editing tool, allowing for the precise and prompt modification of DNA in a genome. This literature review examines studies conducted on CRISPR Cas_9 and its genetic role in the body while simultaneously exploring how it can effectively be applied to potentially provide present-day solutions to T2DM and accordingly AD. Preliminary work related to CRISPR Cas_9 experimentation in rodent studies with T2DM provided a therapeutic effect lasting four weeks longer than the usual daily dosage need of Sitaglibin, an anti-diabetic medication. Recognized globally, CRISPR Cas_9 is a revolutionary approach, providing physicians the opportunity to rewrite life-threatening illnesses with a simple insertion or deletion of a gene, and can be seen as a stepping stone in the evolution of medicine.